Another Fine Mess
by Quatermass
Summary: (Harem!) Two years after defeating Voldemort, Harry tracks down his second cousin Mari Kurokawa in Japan. A blind date with her friend Shino Kuribayashi, however, gets interrupted when a mysterious gate appears in Ginza. It seems that Harry will be going on an adventure once more, but will his saving people thing be enough? Yet another fine mess he's gotten into...
1. Foreword

**FOREWORD**

 _GATE: Thus the JSDF Fought There_ is one of those anime series that, despite the various faults, particularly in the story (which is very strongly pro-Japanese Nationalism and pro-JSDF, with a rather contemptuous portrayal of other countries), it's still very much an enjoyable one. I only recently came into it, but found it interesting enough to do, as of writing, two crossovers so far. The first, _Parva Sub Ingenti_ , was also meant to add to the lacking selection of Potterverse crossovers with _GATE_ , while _GATE: Thus the Chosen One Fought There_ was my first _Star Wars_ fanfic, crossover or not, and was inspired by the massively underrated similar crossover _Universal Impossibility_.

This is my second Potterverse crossover with the series, and while as with _Parva Sub Ingenti_ , it features a post-Hogwarts Harry, this one features a Harry who goes through the Gate with the JSDF, rather than already being present in the Special Region, as with _Parva Sub Ingenti_ and Split-Girl's _In Which Harry Ditches Everyone! Welcome to Ancient Culture Chop-Suey_.

Anyway, time for the usual disclaimers. Firstly, there will be spoilers for both Harry Potter and _GATE_.

Secondly, there will be heavy annotations, as is usual for my works. You have been warned.

Thirdly, this is an M-Rated work. There will be coarse language, violence, dark themes and sexual references. Again, you have been warned.

Finally, the following is a fan-written work. Harry Potter and _GATE_ are the properties of their respective owners. Please support the official release. Otherwise, the Flame Dragon will eat you…


	2. Chapter 1: Here We Go Again

**CHAPTER 1:**

 **HERE WE GO AGAIN**

 _"You're setting me up on a blind date? What the hell, Mari?"_

 _Sergeant Mari Kurokawa, member of the Japanese Self-Defence Forces and trained battlefield medic, smirked a little. The tall, blue-eyed woman was one of Sergeant Shino Kuribayashi's few friends, in or out of the JSDF, but the buxom hotblooded sergeant was wondering whether she should revise that opinion. "It's not a_ miai(1), _Shino. I'm not expecting you two to get married. He's just new to Japan, and he's a bit lonely, and I thought at the very least you two could become friends. I don't care if those idiots call you a Christmas Cake(_ _2)_ _. And if it's any consolation, he had the same reaction."_

 _"It isn't, and stop smirking like that! At least tell me he's cute and not some idiot who faps to H-Games and thinks that's what romance is. I don't need a moron staring at my breasts all the time and hoping to have a grope."_

 _"I daresay he is cute, and while I can't speak for his sex life, I'm pretty sure he hasn't played an H-Game in his life. He's actually my second cousin, from Britain."_

 _This got Shino's attention. "Oh? I didn't know you had family there."_

 _"My grandmother was English, and came here to work for a business here after the Second World War. Her brother stayed in England, and while he's been dead since the Eighties, his grandson is still alive. Nearly wasn't, though. He got orphaned by a terrorist targeting his family back in '91, and said terrorist emerged from hiding back in 2005. Some of those attacks in Britain that happened between 2005 and 2008 weren't Al Qaeda or other groups, but they were led by this guy. It's all pretty hush hush for various reasons, but my cousin managed to kill said terrorist in self-defence. However, he wanted to get away from Britain for a while. Too many bad memories."_

 _"So, he actually fought that terrorist?"_

 _"A couple of times, and survived each time, even if it was by the skin of his teeth. So he knows what it's like to be in a fight, probably more than many of the people we have here in the_ Jietai. _Plus, if you decide to hook up, I know for a fact that he's a good house husband. Those bastards he was left with, his aunt, her husband and his cousin, basically made him their live-in servant for most of his life. Hell, they had him sleeping in a damned boot cupboard until he was eleven."_

 _Shino felt a surge of anger at that. "Please tell me they got their comeuppance."_

 _"The aunt did. She's in jail. The cousin's turned his life around and is actually in the British Army. The uncle died of a heart attack last year when he got tasered while resisting arrest, apparently. Serves him right, really. Anyway, he started looking into his family, and somehow found out about me. He managed to send me an email a few months ago, and we got into correspondence. Then, not so long ago, he decides to come over to Japan. We've spent the last little while catching up. Anyway, I even made suggestions about where you should go. I know you like the shooter games and the laser tag at Joypolis in Odaiba(_ _3)_ _, and after that, I suggested Ginza, to do some shopping. Maybe you could show him that_ doujinshi _convention that's on."_

 _"Really?" Shino asked, her face scrunching up in disgust. "It's gonna be filled with otakus and weirdos. Actually, I heard one of the reservists going on about it."_

 _"Oh, I know who you mean. 2_ _nd_ _Lieutenant Youji Itami," Mari said. "It's either that, or Sergeant Kurata, but Itami's the one who really geeks out more than anyone else I know."_

 _"…Tall guy, often has stubble on his chin, keeps singing the_ Mei-Com _song?"_

 _"Yeah, that's Itami. He's a little annoying, and a bit too much of a slacker, but his heart's in the right place. Just needs a bit of tough love every now and then to remind him how he should act. Anyway, it was a suggestion, as he was curious about our culture. He likes some manga and anime, though he's not quite an otaku, by Japanese standards anyway. Western standards, maybe, but he was a bit of a late bloomer in that regard. He'll probably let you take the lead. I wouldn't call him an old-fashioned gentleman, but he'll be courteous to you, and won't mind you swearing like a sailor, as long as it isn't_ _ **at**_ _him."_

 _"Really? Well, maybe it might be a good day. So, what's your English cousin's name?"_

 _"Harry Potter…"_

* * *

Shino laughed as she fired at Harry with the laser gun. As much as she liked sitting ducks, she wanted a challenge, and while he didn't move like a professional soldier, she had to admit, the scrawny beanpole of a Brit had good reflexes and stealth ability. Then again, if you were being hunted by a terrorist, she supposed you had to get good, or die. Laser tag was fun against unskilled noobs who thought that playing a _Metal Gear Solid_ game prepared them for combat and stealth, but it was even more fun against a fairly skilled opponent, even if he wasn't a trained soldier.

Most of the men who expressed an interest in her didn't like her combative personality. She suspected many of them wanted a _yamato nadeshiko_ , a traditional Japanese housewife, or else some oversexed bimbo like something out of an H-Game. They'd probably prefer her younger sister, and Shino knew that Nanami had had to deal with sexual harassment at the TV station she worked in.

Harry seemed to take it in his stride, and that actually reassured her. She could tell he was physically attracted to her, as he did have a bit of a hard time looking her in the eyes. But he also made more of an effort to treat her like she was a person, and he seemed to speak to her more easily than most. She was certainly grateful for the English she learned while doing joint exercises with the Yanks. She could hold a conversation fairly well.

They were spending the morning here at Joypolis. Then, later that morning, they'd head to Ginza for shopping. He was curious about the convention, but promised Shino they wouldn't linger if she felt uncomfortable, for which she was grateful.

She peered out from behind cover, trying to figure out where Harry was…only to suddenly hear a blast from behind, and her vest beep. "Aw, goddammit!" she snarled. "How the hell did you sneak up on me? Who do you think you are, Solid Snake?"

"I'm not wearing a cardboard box and I don't smoke," Harry snarked as she turned to face him. He was rather scrawny, and short for his age, but he also looked fit enough. Emerald eyes looked at her through glasses, both weary and yet with good humour, unlike the sardonic look of that ass 1st Lieutenant Yanagida's eyes, or the perpetually belligerent and bellicose look of that even bigger ass Major Higaki. He had a messy thatch of black hair, with a lightning bolt-like scar marring his forehead. He was actually quite handsome, she had to admit, though.

"And thank God for that," Shino said. "Some idiots smoke like bloody chimneys, even in the JSDF. And the less said about people goofing off and using cardboard boxes in stealth training, the better. Still, at least you gave me a challenge. Nice. I'll have to get better in future, I'm sure. If you could get the drop on me, so could someone else."

Harry looked around the darkened room, with the heavy bass music playing through speakers. "It's not ideal conditions."

"Is war ever in ideal conditions?"

"Fair enough. Though will Japan see war in your lifetime?"

"Hope not. But you never know. Anyway, I'm over this. Let's finish up, and then head to Ginza. Maybe there's something interesting happening there…"

* * *

Not long afterwards, when they got to Ginza, Shino was eating her words. They had been wandering the district when they saw something at a traffic intersection. Something very large, very odd, and very out of place. "Shino…is there meant to be a transparent Greco-Roman archway in the middle of the road?"

She looked at Harry incredulously. "Why the hell would you think there is meant to be one in the first place?"

He shrugged. "Japan…maybe someone's doing a TV or movie shoot…but there's no cameras, no barricades…Shino, it's becoming more solid. No…no, no, no…who's doing this?"

Shino realised, to her astonishment, his reaction wasn't filled with as much surprise or denial as she would have expected with something as impossible, not like the onlookers who were gawking at the now almost solid gateway. Oh, there was surprise there, and astonishment…but worryingly, there was a fear there. As if he had some small inkling of what was to happen next. "Shino," he said quietly. "I think we need to clear the area, just in case. I think something bad is going to happen."

"Why do you say that?" Shino asked.

"With my luck, it's a dead certainty. Can you get the police to do that?"

"I'll try." There was a police officer nearby, and Shino said, " _Hey, my friend here thinks something bad is gonna happen. Can you get the people away from here, just in case?_ "

The police officer looked at her, before saying, " _You sure about that? There's a_ doujinshi _convention nearby, maybe this is a promo for_ …oh." Whatever he saw prompted him to start yelling, " _Clear the area! Clear the area now!_ "

Shino spotted it along with Harry when the policeman reacted. A dark shape rushing down the tunnel at speed, above the ground, and suddenly shooting out with a shrill roar. "Is that…a dragon?!" Shino yelped.

"Someone's riding it!" Harry yelled. More of them flew into the skies. He then turned back to the gate, and paled. "Shino…"

The urgency in his voice got her to look, and she saw, to her utter astonishment, an army there. What looked like Roman soldiers on foot and on horseback, massive hulking beasts with clubs, smaller creatures with porcine features, and more. It was an impossible army, and yet, it was right there. One even blew a horn.

"…No way in hell those are cosplayers," Shino muttered flatly. "They look too vicious…COVER!"

She pulled Harry behind a telephone booth, but the police officer, along with one of his colleagues and a number of civilians, were hit by a hail of arrows. "Definitely not cosplayers," Shino growled angrily, before checking the police officer (who had an arrow through the eye), before taking his pistol with a murmured apology. She then rushed over to the other police officer, who was also dead, and took the pistol, handing it to Harry. "Don't shoot at anything that you don't want to kill," she said firmly, before she took aim at the approaching army, and fired.

She had to admit, she was proud of the shot that blew out the eye of one of those hulking creatures wielding clubs. Then again, would she have managed to hit anything vital if she aimed anywhere else? For all she knew, they had skulls as thick as tank armour, and their organs were in a different position. Harry didn't hesitate for long, shooting one Roman off his horse, and he seemed surprisingly accurate for a civilian, though he flinched every time the gun went off. Did he play a lot of video games or something? Or did this have something to do with the terrorist who had been after him? However, he didn't make his shots count as much, and he had soon emptied the clip. With a frustrated look, he muttered something as he wound up, and then threw the gun at the approaching army.

Shino almost chewed him out for this, only to see the gun seemingly be thrown at a ridiculously high speed. High enough, in fact, that it hit one of the approaching soldiers in the eye, sending him down to the ground with a scream of pain and causing a bit of a domino effect, causing part of the army to stumble and falter briefly. It was like a baseball had been thrown at them, albeit by one of those baseball pitching guns. Shino decided to just keep shooting, taking down more of those hulking beasts, before she looked at her gun and snarled. "Dammit, I'm out! Run!"

What she wouldn't give for an assault rifle, especially with a bayonet. She was great at _jukendo_ , bayonet fighting, and she reckoned she'd be able to use it to get the hell out of here, with Harry. Never mind a Howa assault rifle: let's see how these bastards would enjoy a meal of hot lead. But no, here she was in mufti, without any useful weapons. If one of the soldiers got close, she reckoned she could use CQC or something, but she wasn't sure how she'd do against one of those creatures without a decent weapon.

As they ran, she noticed Harry looking around. Most of the people had fled. There were a few people in the distance, but they were all running for their lives. Then, he seemed to mutter, "People are dying. Fuck the statue." No, he said, "Fuck the _statute_ ," she realised. He then turned around, pulling out a long, elongated carved stick, like a conductor's baton, or a wand. Then, he bellowed, "BOMBARDA MAXIMA!"

A jet of light spat from the wand, and smashed into the invading army. It was as if someone had thrown a grenade into their midst, or they had stepped on a landmine. A massive explosion engulfed part of the invading force. More jets of light detonated amongst them, sending soldiers, horseriders, orcs, ogres, whatever the hell they were flying. At this point, the army halted, hesitating, and Harry began running again, Shino soon following.

"I don't know how many of them there are," Harry panted, "and I'm probably going to exhaust myself if I keep this up for much longer!"

"What do you mean, exhaust yourself?!" Shino demanded. "What the hell was all that you were doing with that stick?!"

"Short version is, I'm a wizard! I think the long version can wait until this shit has died down, don't you think?"

Shino couldn't help but agree with that sentiment. Still, she knew she was going to get the full story out of him and Mari, one way or another. Then again, this day was already strange enough…

 **CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, here we are, with Shino and Harry getting caught up in Ginza. Oh dear.**

 **1\. A** ** _miai_** **is a sort of matchmaking process in Japan. I only know this because it was a link on the Wiktionary page for a blind date.**

 **2\. 'Christmas Cake' is an infamous Japanese pejorative term for women over 25, deriving from the fact that nobody wants Christmas Cake past the 25** **th** **of December. Apparently 'New Year Noodles' has become more popular lately, but with similar connotations, only with over-31s being insulted.**

 **3\. Joypolis is a real amusement arcade in Japan, owned by Sega I believe. I don't know whether they actually have a laser tag centre, but for the sake of this story, it does.**


	3. Chapter 2: Repercussions

**CHAPTER 2:**

 **REPERCUSSIONS**

"You know, Mr Potter, you were considerably lucky we were able to arrange a suitable 'malfunction' for the CCTV camera and recordings that witnessed your spell usage," the rather sardonic-looking and shabby-looking man in the trenchcoat said. He had introduced himself as Hideyo Komakado of the Japanese Defence Intelligence Headquarters, as well as Chief No-Maj Liaison for the local DMLE.

"People had died, those things were coming to kill us, so what, I should have died?" Harry asked bitterly.

"No, no, no, that's what Obliviators are for, to wipe memories when our hands are forced," Komakado said, shaking his head. "In any case, we're actually better able to cover up breaches of the Statute here than in many other countries. Japan's strange enough already. Should a wizard or witch reveal themselves, they're more likely to be lauded rather than feared, given the whole magical girl genre, or those things by Kinoku Nasu(1). You're not in any real trouble, Mr Potter. In any case, considering that the only witness is a member of the JSDF, and someone who could be persuaded to stay silent under what would be the Official Secrets Act if this happened in Britain, it's fairly minimal. No, this is really just a debriefing. Given what happened, the ICW is scrambling on how to respond to this, much like the mundane government is. The JSDF has been mobilised to send a force through the Gate, to ensure the army that came through does not try again. For now, I believe the Ministry here is going to avoid covering it up. Too many people, and the Statute of Secrecy was breached by an outside entity, which appears to be from another world. Still caused a mess, literally and politically, of course."

Harry grimaced to himself. Of course it was a mess. Another fine mess he had ended up in. And this is what he got for tracking down one of his relatives. Ever since the fall of Voldemort, Harry had had enough of Magical Britain and its fickleness, its mercurial nature towards its heroes. True, the flaws of wizards were merely those of humanity, magnified, and humanity had a tendency to demonize its heroes. But he despised being on the receiving end, and knew that the gratitude he received was hollow. He only really trusted his surviving friends, and frankly, they had lives of their own, now.

Harry, in a desperate need to be anywhere but with the fame, had decided to see if he could find other family. The Goblins, after their anger over the break-in had been smoothed over (with a lot of Harry's gold), had agreed to a full inheritance test…and Harry had discovered, to his shock, that he had relatives in Japan. With his relationship with Ginny over, albeit on amicable terms (the spark that had been there during his sixth year had faded after her breaking up with him), and Teddy being raised by his grandmother, Harry opted to come over and meet his relatives, after being given a crash course in Japanese by Hermione, as well as how to cast a translation charm.

His mother had a half-Japanese cousin, which meant that Harry had a Japanese second cousin, Mari Kurokawa. Thankfully, she was aware of magic, as her father was a Squib who had been cast out of a Japanese Pureblood family. She had no idea that she was, albeit distantly, related to the infamous Harry Potter, and spent some time getting to know him. She was actually quite tall for a Japanese woman, taller than he was, and despite only being about three years his senior at 23, she had an older, even mothering air.

He had been a bit reluctant to go on this blind date she suggested with one of her friends from the Japanese Self-Defence Forces, but Shino, while rambunctious and a little aggressive (though the 'little' part halted when she played laser tag, one of Mari's suggestions), was actually quite nice. If he was lucky, he would have her as a friend. He wasn't quite interested in romance for now, but humoured Mari, if only to help her friend.

And now, this shit happened.

After being forced to use spells against the invaders, Harry and Shino joined up with other civilians, who had headed to the Imperial Palace. There, Shino saw someone she knew, and didn't like, helping direct the evacuation: 2nd Lieutenant Youji Itami, a rather thin, lanky man with stubble on his chin, and a JSDF reservist Shino had encountered. Being given a fresh clip for her gun, Shino reluctantly (only because of Itami commanding her rather than any reluctance to help civilians) helped hold the invading forces at bay until the local SWAT teams, followed by the JSDF. The invaders had been decimated and driven back to the Gate, as it was now being called.

Soon afterwards, he, along with Shino, had been approached by Komakado, who asked them to accompany him. Harry had to wait for a while in this room before Komakado came in, apparently having explained to Shino what had happened, and to keep quiet.

"So, what now?" Harry asked.

"Well, that's up to you, Mr Potter. It's still early days yet. That being said, I'd be careful. I'm sure you're about to have a couple more honours coming your way. Eyewitnesses say that you and Sergeant Kuribayashi were amongst the first to realise the danger and to warn people about it, including the local authorities," Komakado said. "That being said, while I know you didn't intend to leave Japan for some time, I'd suggest not expediting your departure. We'll handle any visa issues on the No-Maj end. Well, I will. A few of the Purebloods here are doubtless clucking at the famous British _gaijin_ wizard showing them up. A few of them are old enough to have been in charge of _zaibatsu_ prior to the end of World War II, die-hard Japanese nationalists. I'm a patriot to be sure, but still, as in everything, moderation."

"So, can I go home? I mean, to Mari?"

"Certainly. Just ensure we can still communicate with you…"

* * *

Shino was pissed, but seemed to accept that Harry wanted to wait until they were away from prying ears. So they headed to Mari's place, and after the medic got them drinks, having seen the news (the only footage of Harry seemed to be blurry smartphone footage of him from a distance firing a gun at the army), Harry explained his history, albeit in brief, to Shino. By the end of it all, she was staring at him flatly.

"Sooo, you're a wizard. Your parents were murdered by a wizard neo-Nazi. You went to magical school in Scotland…and you got involved in a civil war between wizards in Britain, one that was covered up because wizards can wipe memories. Mari, I am altogether too sober for this shit. Hit me again."

" _No_ , Shino. Remember what you did to Major Higaki's office the last time you drank too much?" Mari said sharply, putting the bottle away.

"That pompous prick deserved it, Mari!"

"You nearly got discharged thanks to that disciplinary hearing! You're lucky Hazama spoke up for you."

Shino rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I heard part of the story already from that spook, Komakado. Wizards. He showed me some magic. Said you probably used a Banishing Charm on that pistol to make it hit hard. And do you know what the galling thing is? That's not the most unbelievable thing I've heard today. I mean, it's more unbelievable than a fantasy army coming out of some weird Gate or your cousin being a bloody wizard."

"And what's that?" Harry asked, curious, despite himself.

"That slacker Itami has bloody Ranger training and Special Forces training to boot!" Shino complained. "How could a lazy bum like him be a badass Ranger and have Special Forces training, huh?"

Mari chuckled. "I actually knew that already. My sensei was actually his medic at the time. Itami actually got forced into both of those by his COs at the time because of his slacker ways, and he actually graduated the training at the lowest levels. Of course, to even graduate those courses requires considerable fortitude and ability, so maybe you've just forgotten a very basic precept: don't judge a book by its cover."

Shino scowled at her friend. "I still call bullshit. That lazy otaku would've dropped dead of exhaustion during training."

"Well, he certainly was exhausted," Mari said. "Anyway, there's a video on Youtube already of him saving a cop from one of those soldiers. He managed to kill the soldier with the soldier's own dagger or sword or whatever it was. Someone was filming it from a nearby building using their smartphone."

"Again, I still call bullshit," Shino scoffed. "Don't get me wrong, the way he handled the civilian evac and the defence of the Imperial Palace was pretty good, I'll give the nerd that much. Plus, it was pretty sweet how he told some girl, got separated from her parents, that they'd go find them. I'm not saying he's a bad guy, just that he's a lazy slacker who shouldn't be in the _Jietai_."

"So, what next, then?" Harry asked. "Are they going to mobilise the JSDF and go through the Gate or something?"

"I dunno," Shino said, glad for the change in subject. "I heard they sent through some of our guys to basically beat back what's left of the army that came through, but other than that…well…"

Mari nodded. "Article 9's going to be an obstacle. Remember, Harry, Japan technically isn't meant to have an army after the Second World War. We're not allowed to go to war anymore thanks to that. The few times the JSDF are deployed overseas, it's usually in peacekeeping missions or disaster relief. I guess if dealing with whoever sent that army counts as a peacekeeping mission, it could be fudged, but honestly, I don't know how or even if they're going to justify it. And early eyewitness accounts are pretty horrifying. It wasn't just a slaughter. A few of the soldiers raped the women they came across. We even have a few reports of some people taken captive and taken back through the Gate."

"Komakado told me they captured a bunch of those bastards. Apparently his lot are seeing if they can match the language they used," Shino said. "I reckon we should put them into whatever shithole we can use that can basically be like Guantanamo Bay. Seriously, hundreds have to have been killed by those bastards."

"They're already calling this the new 9/11," Mari said, indicating the TV, which was still showing the news, and footage from the attack on Ginza. "Only, instead of terrorists, we've got Romans and fantasy monsters from another world. What next, an alien invasion?"

"What, you mean like in an anime or one of those films from the US?" Shino asked.

"Or _Doctor Who?_ " Harry asked. "Anyway, don't tempt fate, Mari. Knowing my bipolar luck, you might just cause something to happen by daring the universe."

"I'd say you were making that up, but considering what your life's been like so far…yeah, you have a point…"

* * *

As it turned out, things took a turn for the worse for Harry, who was, of course, publicity shy. He, Shino and Itami were to be presented with awards for their actions in Ginza, with both Itami and Shino receiving promotions, Itami to 1st Lieutenant, and Shino to Sergeant-Major. Harry didn't like the ceremony. It was like being presented with the Order of Merlin all over again, although at least there wasn't a medal, just a certificate.

However, soon after that, Shino and Mari were told to report to their JSDF base. And Harry had to come to the Japanese Ministry of Magic. There, Komakado told him some rather irritating news. The Japanese Ministry wanted to hire his services to accompany the JSDF. Apparently the Prime Minister was intending to send an expedition through the Gate, to what he was calling the Special Region. And, partly due to his actions at Ginza, as well as due to his experience with crappy situations, he would be sent through the Gate with them. Officially, he would be a civilian contractor. In reality, he'd be basically a magical consultant, acting as the Japanese Ministry's agent.

He'd been given files to read, based on the Aurors using Legilimency on the prisoners they captured. These men came from another world called Mondas(2), specifically from a continent called Falmart. They were soldiers of the Saderan Empire, led by Emperor Molt Sol Augustus. And they wanted to invade to subjugate any lands they came across, take prisoners as slaves and loot whatever treasures they could find. All in the name of spreading 'civilisation', or at least their version.

There were multiple non-human species living there, more or less openly as opposed to Earth. The Elves there were the classic Elves of fantasy, High Elves and Dark Elves, as opposed to House Elves, and there were beings who looked like humans, but with animal-like traits. There were Catgirls, Dragonids, Bunny Warriors, and so on.

Of course, of considerable concern were the deities of the Special Region, who were apparently very real, and their Apostles. Apostles were regular beings who, in exchange for a 1000 years of service to their chosen deity, were given immortal bodies and superhuman abilities. One of those whom the Japanese Ministry had used Legilimency on had encountered the Apostle of Emroy, the local god of war and calamity. This Apostle was Rory Mercury, who, by Earth standards, looked like a 13 year old girl wearing Gothic Lolita-style clothes, though apparently they were priestess vestments there. She was obviously one they had to look out for, just in case she took umbrage. Of course, she could also be a potential ally, even if a fickle one. She apparently had little love for the Empire these men represented.

Of course, he was given the option to refuse going with the JSDF. Komakado knew better than to try and entrap the person who defeated Voldemort, after all. But after some consideration, Harry decided to agree. He needed something new, something novel in his life. This could be it. He'd probably have to do some small military training, if only to learn how to use some of the equipment, but he wouldn't be part of the JSDF proper. Maybe in this new world, he could have something interesting to do…

 **CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, a better buildup to the incursion into the Special Region. The next chapter will be a revised version of the original second chapter posted in** ** _The Cauldron_** **.**

 **1\. AKA the writer behind** ** _Tsukihime_** **and** ** _Fate/Stay Night_** **.**

 **2\. I used Mondas as a placeholder name for the Special Region world in my** ** _Star Wars_** **crossover** ** _GATE: Thus the Chosen One Fought There_** **, so I decided to use it here. Mondas sounds rather like 'Mundas', a Latin name for the world, and was used as the name of the first Cyberman homeworld from** ** _Doctor Who: The Tenth Planet_** **.**


	4. Chapter 3: The 3rd Recon Team

**CHAPTER 3:**

 **THE 3** **RD** **RECON TEAM**

 _Three months after the Gate opens_ …

Harry grimaced as he looked at the bloody battlefield that was once the slopes of Alnus Hill, early in the morning after the last massive battle. He'd seen death many times, but never on this scale, not outside documentaries about war and mass murder like the Holocaust. And it was his first time seeing so many bodies.

They had finally gone through the Gate, three months after it had first opened (and after Harry spent some time training with the JSDF), though Harry kept away from the front lines when a number of battles were waged over a few days, keeping a ballistic vest and helmet on most of the time. Shino was standing next to him, her assault rifle at the ready, her expression grim. "Bloody hell," she muttered. "Last casualty count was 60 thousand dead. We're still counting the POWs we captured."

"Molt Sol Augustus had to know he was sending them into a massacre," Harry said. "The returning troops must've said something. But these soldiers…they seem to be using different flags…" Suddenly, he heard a groan from nearby, and rushed over to one body, a burly, older man, missing his left arm and leg, an eyepatch askew, his hair and beard greying. "Hey! Mari, we've got wounded here!"

Mari hurried over, and checked the man, and grimaced, calling on her radio for a stretcher. "We need to get him help. He's lucky, his wounds were cauterised partly by the heat of the shrapnel. Talk to him, Harry."

Harry nodded. He'd learned that the translation charm Hermione taught him worked for the language of this world, and was apparently a mangled version of Greek and Latin. Casting it on himself, he spoke to the man. " _Hello, can you understand me?_ "

The man opened his one eye blearily. "… _Who are you? Gods? Demons?_ "

" _No, we're the people Molt Sol Augustus pissed off by invading through the Gate. Who are you?_ "

"… _King Duran of the Elbe Kingdom_ ," the man rasped. " _The Emperor…he sent us here to die, didn't he?_ "

" _I don't know. You tell me._ "

Before Duran could reply, the stretcher party came along, and Duran was put onto it. " _Don't worry_ ," Harry said. " _We'll give you medical treatment. If you cooperate with us, you'll be well-treated._ "

As Duran was taken away, Mari looked at Harry. "Well?"

"Hit the jackpot there, apparently. He claims to be King Duran of the Elbe Kingdom. Probably one of the Empire's vassal states," Harry said. "The way he spoke, he thinks the Emperor sent him and his men to die at the hands of the JSDF. Maybe we have someone we can get intel from."

Mari nodded, and hurried off, after her latest patient. Shino sighed quietly. "Seriously…I'd feel sorry for them if they hadn't killed or raped or abducted those civilians."

"These are the vassal states. They didn't do that. Besides, I doubt that every soldier in this Empire is a rapist."

"Maybe. Still, why are they Romans?"

"Ah, well, I asked Komakado if I could contact friends back home about this. He gave me the okay, so I contacted Hermione and Luna. Hermione found out something interesting. Apparently, during the Roman Empire, at least one legion famously went missing, the Ninth Legion. And who's to say the Gate hasn't appeared before? The POWs back in Japan believed that. Said something about the local death goddess Hardy having a hand. Also, something else." Nearby was a corpse of a wyvern, the small dragons ridden by some of the soldiers here, and he gestured Shino to it. "Dragon parts are prized in the magical world as you know, but apparently, the scales here? They go for a lot of the local money according to the reports." He managed to rip away one of the scales, and handed it to Shino. "Feel that."

She did, frowning. "It feels a bit like the trauma plate in ballistic vests. Except lighter."

"Exactly. Those things stood up to anything short of 50 calibre rounds at Ginza. I don't think even the dragons back home were this tough," Harry said. "Still…the Emperor sent this many men to their deaths…bastard."

"Hey, this is war, Harry. They killed all those people at Ginza, and wanted to enslave us. If they bothered to retreat instead of running headfirst into gunfire…" Shino looked grimly over the battlefield. " _Dulce et decorum pro patria mori_ my arse(1). It's one thing to fight to protect one's country, but this…ugh. I like a good fight, but this doesn't feel right to me. Gimme some rapist douche to beat the crap out of…"

* * *

Partway through undressing for his session with Tyuule, ex-Queen of the Bunny Warriors, Prince Zorzal El Caesar felt a shiver run down his spine, as if a premonition of things to come. He dismissed it quickly…and would regret that in time to come…

* * *

Later that morning, Harry, Shino, Mari and a few others were ordered to line up, ready to become part of the 3rd Recon Team. The second in command was a grizzled older Sergeant-Major by the name of Souichirou Kuwahara (Shino not being given the same position because of her lack of experience, which she understood). Harry recognised Sergeant Takeo Kurata, a young and eager otaku, Sergeant Akira Tomita, a tall, burly man who was very much a gentle giant, and Private Furuta Hitoshi, a tall, thin young man with a serene expression and who was apparently an ex-chef.

And coming out to meet them with a lazy expression was Itami. He was a bit scruffy, but Harry had grown to like him, partly because he reminded him of Ron, and partly because Itami, when he wasn't geeking out over something, was a very amiable and personable guy. Harry didn't listen to the rambling, very unprofessional speech that Itami gave, but he heard Shino groaning in disgust and annoyance.

As they drove out to one of the nearby villages, Coda, Harry found himself in the same jeep as Itami, Kurata, Mari and Kuwahara, Shino refusing to get into the same vehicle as Itami. As they drove off, Itami looked back at Harry, who was wearing a helmet and a bulletproof vest, though the only sidearm he was wielding was a magnum pistol. "So, we never really got to talk about this while in the JSDF base…but I was told you're a wizard, and some hero back in Britain?" Most of the JSDF spoke fairly good English, due to having done joint exercises with the US Army. Though Harry also managed to speak Japanese well enough now to be able to converse with them sans translation charm.

"Yeah. Not really sure I can call myself a hero, though. I just killed people who wanted me dead."

"I was briefed on this. This is all hush-hush stuff, can't speak about it to even other groups," Kuwahara said. "Some warlock, a wizard neo-Nazi terrorist called Voldemort orphaned Harry at the age of one. However, Voldemort somehow survived being killed, and came back from the grave a few years back before Harry put him down for good. Isn't that right, Harry?"

"Yeah. All those terrorist attacks in Britain between 2006 and 2008? Many of them weren't Al Qaeda or gang wars," Harry said bitterly. "Some of my best friends died during that mess. Too many people died. I'm not sure I want to say anything more about it."

"Hey, it's cool," Itami said quietly. "And the Brits expected a teenager to kill this guy?"

"I was the Boy Who Lived for surviving something my parents didn't," Harry said. "They were either holding me up as the second coming of Merlin, or making me out to be Voldemort's successor…"

* * *

They found their way to Coda, and as Harry's ability to speak to local language, courtesy of the translation charm, was better, he was sent to negotiate, as well as ask about maps of the area. He also learned, after revealing he was a wizard to the villagers, that a couple of mages lived nearby, Cato El Athelstan and his apprentice, Lelei La Lalena. Harry made a mental note to speak to them later, but apparently there was a High Elf settlement in a nearby forest, and Itami was to try and make contact with them and establish friendly relations. They'd head back to Coda later.

Harry decided to ignore Itami and Kurata's spirited debate about who had the best 'waifu', until they started singing the song to some inane magical girl anime called _Mei-Com_. "Oh, stop torturing those cats, you two!" Harry snapped irritably. He liked Itami, but while he liked some anime, others he didn't.

"Hey, that's no way to speak to your superior officer!" Itami barked at Harry, albeit good-naturedly. "Anyway, aren't you excited to meet Elves and Catgirls and whatnot?"

"Well, yeah. But I don't go on and on about it. We don't exactly have those in Britain. The sexiest magical creatures we have are Veela, and you don't want to get on their bad side. They're like a mix of Siren and Harpy who can use fire magic with ease."

"Hey, Harry," Kurata said, "best waifu in anime. Who would it be for you?"

Harry grimaced, before he eventually said, "Toss-up between Saber or Rider from _Fate/Stay Night_. Saber because she's King Arthur as a girl in her late teens, and I'm British, and Rider because, well, she's Medusa. Sexy Medusa too. Plus, I can speak to snakes. She'd probably get a kick out of that."

"Seriously?" Mari asked. "You can talk to snakes?"

"Long story. Short version? I got a bit of Voldemort's soul in my skull, and while that got removed, the ability to speak to snakes remained," Harry said. "Anyway, Mari actually got me _Fate/Stay Night_ , the visual novel, to have a go at playing. Cool story. Though really, the writers are fucked up in the head."

"How so?" Kurata said.

"Two words: _Crest Worms_." Harry shuddered at the imagery on display with those disgusting things…

* * *

Later that evening, they were approaching the Koan Forest where the High Elf settlement was supposed to be, but they saw a plume of smoke in the distance, a massive plume that all but blotted out the sky. They soon pulled over, and the 3rd Recon Team looked over at the forest. Harry was the first to spot the cause. "Holy fuck me, it's a dragon!"

And indeed, it was the largest dragon Harry had ever seen, somewhat larger than the Hungarian Horntail that Harry had confronted back in his fourth year, for the Tri-Wizard Tournament. However, this one was crimson and even more belligerent than that one, if that was possible.

"Well, if it isn't King Ghidorah's one-headed cousin," Kuwahara remarked sardonically.

"More like Smaug's little brother," Harry retorted. "But seriously, why do I get the feeling we need an anti-tank rocket or something?"

"We've got some Panzerfaust-3s in the jeeps, Harry," Shino said. "They have HEAT warheads. If those can't kill that, I'm afraid what will. Still…look at the size of that thing. Is that the same size as dragons back home?"

"Yeah."

"Commander, what do we do?" Shino asked Itami.

"Well, you could hold my hand, Kuribayashi. I'm actually feeling a bit scared right now." On Shino's irritated grunt, Itami said, as the dragon flew off, "No, seriously…Sergeant-Major, I don't think dragons would burn down a forest for the hell of it. I think he's just attacked the very village we were coming to. Hey, Harry…are any of your spells good for firefighting?"

"I could use _Aguamenti_ charms," Harry said. "They work best with a good source of water nearby, though."

"Right, well, if you think you can do it safely, without dying, when we get close, get started, okay? I want to help any survivors as best as possible…"

* * *

It had already started to rain by the time they got as close to the inferno as they dared, but Harry was fine. Between a Bubble-Head Charm and the Aguamenti spells, he began to quench the fires. Kuwahara, seasoned veteran though he was, decided that the remains of the village were safe to enter by the time night proper had fallen.

Still, it seemed that they were too late. Burned corpses and houses were everywhere. Harry looked around, before he happened to look down the well. It was getting dark, so he cast a Lumos…and a pair of startled teal eyes met his own. Glad the translation charm was still working, he called down, " _Hello? Are you okay?_ "

"… _Who are you?_ " called the girl down there, warily. An Elf girl, with blonde hair, and distinctive pointy ears. A beautiful Elf, apparently in her late teens or early twenties, dressed in green.

" _My name is Harry Potter. I am a mage from beyond the Gate on Alnus Hill. What's your name?_ "

" _Tuka Luna Marceau. Please…if you can get a rope or use your magic…I need to find my father._ "

" _Okay, gimme a moment._ " Then, he said, pointing his wand, " _Wingardium Leviosa._ " Tuka was lifted out of the well, and all but fell into Harry's arms. "Mari!" Harry called, casting a Drying Charm on Tuka, then a Warming Charm.

Mari hurried over, and began checking Tuka, who looked at Harry nervously. " _She's a medic, a healer. She wants to check you for any injuries or hypothermia. You've been in the water for so long, it might affect your body temperature._ "

Tuka, after a moment, nodded. " _Please…my father….if your magic can find him, do it. He is Hodor Ray Marceau. Please_ …"

Harry nodded back as Mari hustled the Elf away. Kurata began squeeing over the fact that they had found a hot blonde Elf, until Harry shot him a look, made irritable by mild magical exhaustion. "She just lost her home, along with everyone she knew, Kurata. Show some bloody respect instead of fanboying out!"

Kurata winced, recoiling. Harry knew Kurata didn't mean badly, he just didn't think before fanboying out. Itami was more measured, but he said, "Harry, he didn't mean it that way."

"I know, but if Tuka there knew what he was talking about, wouldn't she be angry or disturbed? Anyway, I'll see if I can find her father," Harry said, putting his wand into the palm of his hand. " _Point Me_ , Hodor Ray Marceau." The wand spun briefly, before pointing at one of the collapsed but less burnt homes. He hurried over, and began using magic to lift the rubble away, believing he'd find a corpse. He was surprised to find a relatively intact body…and was even more so to find it still breathing. Like Tuka, he was an Elf, with blonde hair and pointy ears, his clothes singed but mostly intact, his face similar to Tuka's. Blood trickled down his forehead.

"Mari! When you're free, come here! We've found another survivor! I think it's her father!"

* * *

Despite doing considerable searching, no other survivors were found. If any had survived, they had fled far away by now. As it turned out, the other survivor was Tuka's father. Tuka, thanks to the Drying and Warming Charms, was out of danger, just needing a blanket to keep warm, but Hodor had a bad concussion and a few other injuries. They decided to camp on the outskirts of the former Elf village for now, and head to Coda in the morning to warn them.

As they had dinner, Tuka, who was surprised at the taste of the MRE she was given, looked at Harry. " _Harry Potter, was it?_ " she asked. " _Thank you for bringing me out of the well, and finding my father. I was sure he was still alive, but_ …"

" _You're welcome. Are you all right?_ "

The blonde Elf shook her head, chewing her lip a little. "… _My friends have been killed by the Flame Dragon. But…it doesn't make any sense! The Flame Dragon is a calamity that is only supposed to awaken every century, and it is decades too early! Something or someone must've roused it from its slumber!_ " She shivered, not from the cold, though, tears trickling from her teal eyes. For a time, she didn't speak, before she eventually asked, apparently to distract herself from her grief, " _You said you come from a world beyond the Gate. Is magic common there?_ "

" _No, it's rare and hidden. I'm the sole wizard here._ "

Tuka frowned, and then looked at the JSDF soldiers. " _Then…what are those staffs they hold? And what is that thing on your belt?_ "

Harry tried to think about it, before he realised what she meant. " _They're called firearms, guns. They're like a bow and arrow, only they use a small explosive to propel metal pellets at immense speeds. They can be built with the right machinery. And these people are soldiers with the Japanese Self-Defence Forces, the military of the country the Gate opened onto on our world. I am from another country on the other side of that world, Britain. Sergeant Kurokawa there is my second cousin. I am a mage unofficially on contract with them._ "

" _Oh_ ," Tuka said. "… _Am…am I going to be able to stay with these soldiers for a while? At least until my father gets better? I don't have anything to pay with, save my body, and_ …"

Harry held up his hand. " _Hey…you don't have to sleep with anyone to pay off any debt. The JSDF came here mostly to hold the Saderan Empire to account, but also to meet the locals as friendly as possible. Using sex to pay debts is not really the done thing on our world. I'm sure the JSDF will work something out._ "

Tuka seemed shocked, before she gave a rather sad smile. "… _Thanks. Do you have Elves on your world?_ "

" _Not like yours. Some wizards have brownie servants, who work in exchange for magic, but I don't know of any others. Elves like you are in our fiction, though. There's Goblins, Merpeople, Centaurs…but not really the demi-humans you have here._ "

" _I see. Do you think…my father will be all right?_ "

" _I don't know, not with a head injury like that. But he's alive, right?_ "

" _Yes…he's alive_ …"

 **CHAPTER 3 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **And the first major divergence from** ** _GATE_** **canon begins fairly quickly. Tuka didn't get bopped on the head with a water bucket and spent less time in the well, and Hodor was found before he could wander off in an amnesic daze. Oh, and King Duran was found before he could crawl off wherever he went to to get healed. Seriously, how DOES he end up at that convent Pina finds him at?**

 **I'm not sure how Hodor survived, or whether he was still present when the JSDF arrived. I decided he wandered off with amnesia shortly before they did, otherwise, the JSDF were pretty negligent in searching for survivors. Still, for the sake of this story, he will remain unconscious for a while longer…**

 **Anyway, the upshot is, Tuka stays sane, more or less…but having a father with amnesia is sure to cause other problems. I also decided to bypass the whole House Elf issue by having Harry tactfully call them brownies.**

 **I also wanted to give Shino some more characterisation. While compassionate, she also seems rather aggressive and even a little bloodthirsty. I wrote in that bit to show that she doesn't really like the one-sided slaughter.**

 **1\. 'It is sweet and fitting to die for one's fatherland'. An old Latin saying.**


	5. Chapter 4: The Apostle and the Dragon

**CHAPTER 4:**

 **THE APOSTLE AND THE DRAGON**

The next morning, they headed off to Coda rather swiftly, Hodor still unconscious. Tuka stayed with him in the jeep, sitting by Harry's side, looking at her father concernedly. It was decided, once they got back to the village, that Harry and Tuka would tell the village elder. However, Tuka warned them that the villagers would probably intend to evacuate, and might need help. Itami agreed readily. Tuka seemed to be shooting odd glances at both himself and Mari, blushing slightly. He got Tuka into some conversation, learning that she was actually over 160 years old.

Eventually, they made it back to Coda, and they soon met with the village chief. Tuka took the lead in explaining what had happened, and a horrified village chief called for an evacuation. They would go with the JSDF partway to Alnus Hill, parting ways to head to another lord. Apparently the actual lord over these lands had been one of those killed during the assault on Ginza.

Harry decided to go and head to the two mages he heard of yesterday to warn them. Cato El Athelstan turned out to be a grizzled old man, a stereotypical old wizard, short of stature but still surprisingly energetic for his age. His protégé, Lelei La Lalena, turned out to be a rather stoic-looking girl of about fifteen, and a rather petite fifteen at that. She had short silvery blue hair and sapphire eyes. Harry introduced himself, and warned them about the Flame Dragon.

Cato seemed to panic, bringing out massive armloads of books to laden down the cart with. However, Harry knew that it would probably make the cart too heavy for the donkey pulling it, so he cast a Featherlight Charm on the books. " _You are a mage as well?_ " Lelei asked.

" _Yes. I'm the only one in our group. I come from beyond the Gate at Alnus Hill. The rest are soldiers from a country called Japan. Magic is hidden in our world, but these soldiers know about my being a wizard._ "

" _I see_ ," the girl said. " _Why is it hidden on your world?_ "

" _Persecution by those without it, amongst other things_ ," Harry said. " _Just some warning: what they use isn't magic, but it's still dangerous_ …"

* * *

He spoke with Lelei and Cato for a while, before heading back to the village, in time to repair a wagon whose axle had snapped. However, the horse pulling the wagon was maddened, and had to be shot to protect an injured girl, Mari, and Lelei. Lelei was staring in shock at the power of an assault rifle, and Harry had to gently lead her away afterwards, promising to talk to her later.

They soon set off, the refugee convoy making its way through the countryside slowly. Thankfully, Harry was on hand to repair some of the broken wagons, wagons the villagers may have had to abandon. In the meantime, Harry answered more of Tuka's questions, and she answered some of his own about High Elf society, or at least their culture. However, she was also worried about her father's condition, and, using Harry as a translator, often begged Mari for updates.

However, they soon stopped because someone had been sitting in the road, a murder of crows flying above them. And Harry had just enough time to hear Itami say something that sounded like " _Goth Loli!_ " before he looked through the windscreen. He took his own pair of binoculars and looked through them. Sitting in the road was a girl, of about thirteen, with glossy black hair like a raven's feathers, crimson eyes, and a rather feline smirk. She was dressed in Gothic Lolita fashion, albeit with a scandalously short hemline, and a massive halberd.

Harry realised he knew this girl. "Oi, Itami," Harry said quietly. "I think this is one of the Apostles the Legilmens working for the Japanese Ministry mentioned." To Tuka, handing the binoculars over, he asked, " _Is that Rory Mercury?_ "

Tuka looked through them, and nodded. " _I've only seen her once before, but those are definitely the holy vestments of the priestesses of Emroy. I don't think you have anything to fear, though. If you explain your purpose, and she believes you, she'll let us pass. Indeed, she may accompany us._ "

Harry noticed Rory getting up. Distantly, but clearly, he heard her voice, strangely older-sounding than her appearance suggested, like an older teenager or a young adult, " _And from whence are you men coming from, and where do you intend to go? Such strange carriages you ride._ "

Harry and Tuka dismounted, though they were passed by a small gaggle of children who cried out happily for the Oracle as they disembarked from one of the other vehicles. Thankfully, the children's words seemed to reassure Rory, who watched as Harry and Tuka approached. " _Hmm? And a High Elf of Koan Village travels with these men? And who might you be?_ "

" _I'm Harry Potter. I'm a mage working with the Japanese Self-Defence Forces._ "

" _Ahhh, so you are the ones from beyond the Gate Hardy opened onto another world_ ," Rory said.

" _And you are Rory Mercury, Apostle of Emroy, apparently. Your reputation precedes you. Those the Japanese took prisoner praise and curse your name._ "

" _I'm sure they do. Hmm, you've seen many battles, Harry Potter_." She then strutted up to him, and smirked, before heading over to the jeep. " _So, how does this work?_ "

" _I don't know, Lady Mercury_ ," Tuka said, " _but it's certainly comfortable, more so than a carriage. They lower the temperature inside using something called 'air conditioning'._ "

" _Oh?_ " She then turned to Itami, and licked her lips. " _I'd like to try it for myself_ …"

Itami stammered out a greeting in the local language from the phrasebook the JSDF compiled. Harry just knew something hilarious and embarrassing was about to happen…

* * *

As it turned out, Rory, with only a thin veneer of innocence, sat in Itami's lap. That caused quite a bit of hilarity, before Rory decided to take mercy, and merely sat between Itami and Kurata. They continued on, with Harry speaking to Rory. Oddly enough, she could speak English and Japanese fluently, attributing it to a gift from Emroy.

"So…you're basically an immortal priestess of Emroy, one who acts as his emissary in the world. Right?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Rory said, looking back at Harry. "We Apostles are gardeners of this world, and sometimes, it behoves us to do some weeding. Oh, don't worry, Emroy's actually quite besotted with these…JSDF and their weapons. But magic is hidden on your world?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm, how curious. Anyway, I came to meet this convoy after I overheard some bandits looking to loot Coda and join up with some deserters from the Imperial Army," Rory said. "I sent their souls to Emroy for their imprudence. That, and…" Her face fell, becoming solemn, even angry. "They murdered a farmer, his wife, and his daughter. The wife and daughter were raped beforehand. Emroy may be a deity of calamity and warfare, and to him, to kill is not a sin. Rather, it is motive. If your cause is truly righteous, then he has no problem. Those who do it for the sake of slaking either bloodlust or just plain lust, of course, are other matters entirely. Those who do violence to each other for violence's sake must be ready to face the consequences."

"So that's why you came to meet us?" Itami asked. "Curiosity?"

"Indeed. I'm not disappointed. Most soldiers would not try to help these people, at least in this world."

Itami nodded absently, looking out the window, looking back at the convoy…before his eyes suddenly widened. "CONTACT! THE FLAME DRAGON'S HERE!"

"What weapons do we have?" Harry yelped.

"You mean that can harm the thing? Only the Panzerfaust-3s!" Kuwahara said. "What about your magic?"

"Back home, they needed a team of dragon handlers to even stun them! I'm not even sure the Killing Curse…NO!" Harry yelled as he looked out the back window, as the Flame Dragon belched flame over the villagers. "No, no, NO!" he screamed as dozens were immolated or eaten.

The loud report of rifles filled the jeep as Itami took aim and fired, leaning out of the window, while the others began firing. " _Aim for the eyes!_ " Tuka yelled.

"Tuka just said to aim for the eyes!" Harry yelled. He then looked at Kuwahara. "Have we got a Panzerfaust-3 in here?"

Kuwahara nodded, indicating a long box under his seat. Awkwardly, thanks to Rory's halberd and Hodor, who was lying in the way, they managed to slide it out. "You know how to use one of these things?" Kuwahara asked. Harry may have been a civilian on paper, but the older soldier clearly trusted Harry enough to use it.

"Shino showed me once while I was training on the base," Harry said as he pulled out the rocket launcher. "Just make sure nothing is behind me that can get caught in the backblast, and make sure the pin is out so it can act as a HEAT round. Now, I'm going to jump out. I'll be fine with a charm, but I need that damned thing to stay still."

"Distract it? Got it. Just make sure you hit the damned thing," Itami said.

"Got it." Harry flung open the back door of the jeep, and after casting a cushioning charm, jumped out. Tumbling on the ground, he got to his feet, hoisting up the rocket launcher. Admittedly, Shino's lesson was a very quick and dirty one. She'd taken him to the range where they fired training rounds and allowed him to fire one. Not the real deal, obviously, not one with a HEAT warhead, but he knew how to take the safety off, how to get the round prepared, how to aim, and how to fire.

He quickly looked behind him to see whether anyone would be hit by the backblast (nobody, thankfully, was close enough behind him to be of concern), before readying the rocket launcher, looking through the scope, and, recalling that time when Mari strapped him down to watch _Jaws_ , and growled, "Smile, you son of a bitch." And then he pulled the trigger.

The noise of the rocket going off startled him, and he staggered back a couple of steps. Still, the rocket raced through the air. He'd aimed it right at the torso, just as the dragon was looking away, and it was turning back just as the rocket hit it.

Shino had explained what a HEAT round does. It was basically explosive around an inverted cone of metal. When the explosive went off, the metal cone became what was basically a jet of liquefied metal going at hypersonic speeds. While less effective against most modern tanks these days, with the likes of reactive armour being used, a Flame Dragon didn't have those. The blast wasn't powerful enough to penetrate the Flame Dragon from end to end…but it certainly pulped most of its vital organs, judging by the massive flood of gore coming from the wound and the agonised screech the Flame Dragon emitted.

Harry didn't feel any elation, though, even as the Flame Dragon died slowly and horribly. No sense of triumph. Instead, he turned back to the burning remnants of the convoy. He hurriedly rushed over, beginning to cast _Aguamenti_ charms, just in case there was anything he could do.

But in the end, there wasn't…

* * *

He sat apart from the rest of the group as they buried the dead and held a funeral as night fell. 150 dead out of about 600 of Coda's inhabitants. The rational part of his mind knew that, given the Flame Dragon's ambush, there was nothing that could have been done. But the rest of his mind was drowning that out. The guilt, the anger…Mari had seen this, and after an attempt to try and help him, instead let him go off alone. Even Tuka, after thanking Harry profusely, realised he wasn't in the mood, and so went to tend to her father.

He sat on a cart, toying with his helmet pensively. He didn't notice anyone approaching until, in the periphery of his vision, he saw black lace. "Leave me alone," he said quietly.

"Nope," Rory said, popping the 'p' of the word. Rather more solemnly, she said, "Most would view slaying the Flame Dragon as a triumph, you know. Even I would be hardpressed to triumph, given that it'd devolve into a war of attrition. This is the sort of thing people would immortalise in song. They don't care that those people died. Oh no, as long as the hero triumphs over the monster, that's all that matters. You're thinking of those people, though. But you forget that you saved more than were killed, you and the JSDF."

"Everyone around me keeps dying," Harry sneered. "I'm bad luck to anyone I care about."

Rory scoffed softly. "Try living to be 961 years old. Everyone around _me_ keeps dying." As Harry turned to look at the ancient girl, whose eyes looked every second of her age, she said, quietly, "Sergeant Kurokawa told me a little about you. How you're famous amongst the wizards of your homeworld. The Boy Who Lived…but she knows that you hate your fame, partly because it's a reminder that your parents died, and you didn't. In a way, we are the same. I can barely remember my parents now. They were murdered by bandits when I was young, and I was taken into the service of Emroy. I would give anything, even my Apostlehood, to have a normal life with them. But Hardy never gives up her prizes once she has them in her clutches. Whatever tragedy you have witnessed or endured, I can guarantee to match it, if only by dint of experience. But…from what she told me, you also go out of your way to help those who need help. When the Flame Dragon attacked Koan, you used your magic to extinguish the flames, not to mention finding Tuka and Hodor. When it attacked the convoy, you acted swiftly. So did the JSDF. Think not on what you have lost, but on _what you have_ _ **saved**_."

Harry didn't bother replying. He knew she had a point, but it was hard for him to acknowledge it. Instead, he watched the makeshift funeral service. He'd helped dig the graves, manually, like he did for Dobby.

Rory eventually continued. "The village chief will probably ask the JSDF to take care of the orphans and the widows who can't look after themselves. This is close enough to the lord they want to go to. I've got the feeling that Cato El Athelstan and Lelei La Lalena will come along too: their curiosity has been piqued by your magic, and the contrivances of your world. And, of course, there is Tuka and her father…"

"Speak of the devil…" Harry said, as Hodor emerged from the jeep he had been in, looking groggy. Tuka soon noticed, and yelped in pleasant surprise, hurrying over to him. Harry couldn't hear her words well enough to, though he could guess their import…but the puzzled look on his face didn't bode well. Nor did the look of dawning horror on Tuka's. They had an urgent conversation, increasingly desperate on Tuka's end, before she finally headed over to Harry, who hurriedly reapplied his translation charm.

" _Harry, I need your help. My father…_ _ **he doesn't remember me!**_ "

 **CHAPTER 4 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **And on that bombshell, goodnight!**

 **I actually liked this scene between Harry and Rory. While she does have similar scenes in** ** _Parva Sub Ingenti_** **, I wrote the Rory in that story similar to** ** _GATE_** **canon, like a cat who adopted an owner, and one who alternates between a big sister and little sister role for Harry. But after writing in Rory as more of a mentor figure in my** ** _Star Wars_** **crossover** ** _GATE: Thus the Chosen One Fought There_** **, I actually thought, giving Rory this vaguely maternal, big sister air actually worked better. Mari is still a fairly good big sister figure for Harry, but Rory, perversely enough, is better. She already has a very good idea of what makes him tick (she has over nine centuries of experience), and I think there's this desire to have a little brother figure. Plus, she's over 900 years old, and I like writing her in the moments when she shows it, and not just the childish, playful and bloodthirsty Rory. I like her moments when she's actually solemn or philosophical in the show, when she's a bit like a more bloodthirsty and violent version of the Doctor.**

 **As for having Harry slay the Flame Dragon, this wasn't written in to make Harry more badass than the JSDF. This Harry isn't as seasoned and knowledgeable a mage as the one in** ** _Parva Sub Ingenti_** **, and is still coming to terms with the trauma he's gone through in childhood. So, when a huge dragon comes along, and kills a lot of people, he decides, fuck magic, and immediately goes for a Muggle weapon. It was also written to give the story a little push off course as well.**

 **Review-answering time!** **Raghnall** **: Whether I start a story or not is up to me and me alone. Besides, aside from a one-shot at Halloween, I've finished no less than four stories this year, including my longest to date, my Naruto story** ** _Observations of a Wannabe Kunoichi_** **. So don't make comments like that.**

 **Blaze1992** **: On seeing your review, I had a quick look on Wikipedia. The term itself was more prevalent in the Eighties, and nowadays, isn't as prevalent. But it is a genuine Japanese idiom, and I'm sure it's still used as a pejorative.**

 **rmarcano321** **: Actually, I'm actually much more of a** ** _Doctor Who_** **fan. However, oddly enough, Harry Potter fanfic is much easier to write. One of my correspondents, I can't remember who (apologies to whoever did say it to me), once called Harry Potter the 'little black dress of crossovers', because it goes so easily with many things.**

 **Guest** **(regarding Tuka's sexuality): Thanks. In a later chapter, I actually do go into Tuka's reasoning, with her stating to Harry that the few men she was actually attracted to beforehand were already attached. I got some comment making Ilia Amitola from** ** _RWBY_** **bisexual for** ** _Under the Light of the Shattered Moon_** **, though at the time I first wrote it, the episodes that revealed her sexuality weren't aired yet, and after they were, I hurriedly rewrote parts of the story I had already written (but thankfully not published) to change it around. In that story, Ilia was basically in the final category you mentioned. I thought that plausible, as it's never actually stated in** ** _RWBY_** **whether Ilia is an outright lesbian or bisexual. Also, Tuka's relationship with Harry will be a slow-burning one, as it will be with Shino. Yao's addition to the harem will be a little more abrupt, but that's due to various circumstances.**

 **freeforall546** **: No, Lelei will not be part of the harem. She's only 15, and Harry is 20 in this story. That being said, I have another** ** _GATE_** **crossover on the cards,** ** _Worlds Apart_** **, with a teenaged Harry in an eventual relationship with both Lelei and Myuute Luna Sires (the Siren girl conscripted by the bandits to attack Italica, if you don't know who that is). Of course, there's no guarantee that story will have enough chapters to be published eventually, but it's on Chapter 7, and I'll consider posting it as a full story once I've either finished that chapter, or the one after it.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	6. Chapter 5: Return and Reflections

**CHAPTER 5:**

 **RETURN AND REFLECTIONS**

Thankfully, Rory opted to act as a translator between Tuka and Mari, Harry not sure whether he could handle the panicked High Elf girl in his depressed state. Plus, translation charms only worked when cast on one's self. "Well, it seems like Hodor has retrograde amnesia caused by his head injury," Mari said with a frown. "Amnesia caused by trauma can be potentially permanent, but it may also come back by itself. Unfortunately, there's little I can do, out in the field as it were. Even at the infirmary back at base, I don't think we have the equipment, though there should be an EEG to help. Ideally, I'd want to put him into an MRI scanner in a hospital on the other side, but who knows how different a High Elf's brain is from a human's. After all, if he doesn't remember Tuka, that's over 160 years' worth of memories missing."

Rory translated, before she frowned, stopping partway through. "An 'Emm Arr Eye Scanner'?"

"Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner," Mari explained. "It's a machine that allows one to see inside the body without opening it up."

"Huh. Interesting." She translated to Tuka, who looked increasingly upset.

" _Can't you help with your magic, Harry?_ " Tuka asked plaintively.

" _I don't know Legilimency or Mind Healing_ ," Harry responded. He would have loved nothing more than to have told her that he could help her, but he didn't want to lie to her, and get her hopes up for nothing. " _Those would be the best chances. Anyway, there's no magical cure for amnesia._ "

Tuka sobbed quietly, and Mari put a hand on the blonde Elf's shoulder soothingly. "Hey, hey…it'll be all right," she said, before she drew her into a hug. The Elf allowed herself to be embraced, sobbing into Mari's BDU. And Harry's heart went out to her. In that moment, he remembered Neville and his parents, the latter broken by the Cruciatus Curse.

* * *

As Rory predicted, most of the villagers left the next morning, leaving some, mostly children and women, as well as the old and frail, with the JSDF. Harry decided to stay with Mari and Tuka on the way back. He needed his cousin's reassurances, and Tuka seemed to draw strength from them both being there.

"You seem to be getting along well with that Rory Mercury girl," Mari said, before she shot him a look. "Should I be worried that my cousin is a lolicon or something?"

Harry glared at her. "She's over 900 years old, Mari. And anyway, I'd prefer them to be maybe 17 or 18 at the youngest, preferably older. Even if she is older than she looks, I wouldn't touch her. Well, unless Aging potions work on her. No…she and I just had a talk last night."

Mari nodded. "She asked me about your past. I mean, the Statute of Secrecy doesn't really apply to a world where magic is not secret, right? I have to admit, she's kind of likeable. No doubt the brass will think she's a threat, given that she's an Apostle, and thus a superhuman demigoddess. And while she's a threat, I also think she's a powerful ally. Anyway…Harry, you beat yourself up over this. You're not a soldier. Oh, I'm sure that, thanks to Dumbledore, you're pretty much a child soldier in all but name…but you weren't actually trained as a soldier. This doesn't mean I don't wonder if we couldn't have saved more of them…and frankly, I wish we could've. But we saved most of the people there. Maybe you can't call that a win, but it counts for something. Besides, you using the rocket launcher on that thing was pretty good. I heard the brass was thinking of sending some choppers over, carving it up, even making the head a sort of trophy slash warning sign for Alnus. As in _Don't make me come over there_."

Harry snorted at the thought. Still, he wondered how the brass would handle even the small amount of refugees coming here…

* * *

He was glad that Itami was the one being chewed out. Given his ability to translate the language without a phrasebook, once he got back to Alnus Hill, he was the one, along with Rory, who had to help marshal the refugees. Of those, it was Cato and Lelei, along with Tuka and Hodor, who caught his eye. Especially when Rory said something interesting.

"So, let me get this straight," Harry said. "Lelei, because she has blessings from the deities La and Elange, can learn things very quickly?"

"Yes. She'll be able to pick up Japanese and English quite easily, probably the latter first," Rory said. "Our tongue sounds a little more like English in some ways. She already comprehends that what the JSDF uses is not magic but technology. She's intensely curious."

"Definitely a Ravenclaw," Harry remarked. "She's not going to be any trouble?"

"Most human mages have no affiliation with the Empire. If they have an affiliation, it's with Romdel, the city of mages and academia, and they're notorious about staying neutral. In addition, Lelei is formerly of the Rurudo nomads, and they're known for their disinterest in the Empire's affairs. If anything, Lelei is more like a kid in a candy shop. She'd probably side with the JSDF. Keep in mind, the Empire doesn't really have that good a reputation here, or Molt Sol Augustus didn't, anyway. He's been noted for his aggressive expansionism, to reclaim parts of the Empire that were later ceded to other realms. One of his first acts as Emperor was to annex the town of Rosa thirty years ago. He's just a petty, power-hungry warmonger. His oldest son, Zorzal El Caesar, is even worse. He's a notoriously debauched sadist. Diabo El Caesar is apparently better, but he's also a self-centred schemer and a coward. Actually, I like his daughter, Pina Co Lada best."

"…Pina Co Lada? That sounds like a cocktail back home," Harry said flatly.

Rory chuckled. "Really? Well, anyway, Pina is a die-hard patriot of the Empire, but she's also, from what I have heard, a decent person. She's obsessed with chivalry, and even established her own knightly order, the Rose Knights, as a young teenager, after seeing a play called _The Rose Knight_. They're mostly used as colour guard for parades, few take it seriously. Still, by all accounts, she's actually a good fighter, and cares about the people. She just needs a wakeup call."

Lelei chose that moment to come over. " _Mr Potter_ …" she began.

" _Lelei, just call me Harry. The only people who called me Mr Potter were teachers, one of whom I despised. Besides, I'm 20._ "

" _I see. Harry, would you be so kind as to explain a few things here, as best as you can? You seem familiar with the contrivances these people have created._ "

Harry looked at Rory, who shrugged. "Go ahead. I can act as a translator if need be for the others…"

* * *

In a way, teaching Lelei about technology was a bit like teaching Arthur Weasley how some Muggle things worked…only, Lelei was a better student. She grasped general principles fairly easily and swiftly, absorbing knowledge like a sponge absorbed water. She accepted, for example, that electricity was a form of harnessed lightning, or that cars used what were effectively burning of refined petroleum. She understood that Harry only really knew these things in broad terms, though. Harry decided that, if they ever brought Lelei back to Earth, she needed to get Hermione to meet her. Harry had better luck explaining biology, hygiene and medicine.

Eventually, she also began to ask about magic on Earth, and Harry told her a little of his life story. One of her first major expressions was when he explained the Blood Purity beliefs that Voldemort espoused: while magical lineage was important and frequently caused a lot of snobbery, there was, thankfully, no similar movement or ideology in Rondel. If there was any violence in Rondel, it was generally born of academic rivalry rather than lineage. At learning of Voldemort and his twisted, xenophobic ideology, Lelei actually scowled strongly. They were soon joined on their tour, such as it was, of the base by Tuka. She had left her father in the infirmary for now, distressed about his loss of memory, and had basically attached herself to Harry, given that he was the one who rescued her.

There was some good news, though. Tuka had been told by Mari to notify Harry that King Duran was being cooperative. True, they had to muddle through with the phrasebook they compiled, but the man seemed grateful for the JSDF for healing him, even if they were the ones who cost him an arm and a leg. But he blamed Molt Sol Augustus more than the JSDF. Apparently, Duran believed that the Emperor, in order to ward off a potential rebellion by his vassal states (what with his army decimated during the attempt to invade Ginza and the JSDF's retaliation), sent them here to die, in order to ensure the vassal states were no threat. If they actually managed to do anything to the JSDF, then all the more good for Molt Sol Augustus. Elbe would ally itself with the JSDF, if need be.

They soon sat down to have lunch, and Harry, with his translation charm on, asked, " _Just out of curiosity, why didn't we see any demi-humans around Coda?_ "

Cato harrumphed. " _Demi-humans are not well thought of in many parts of Falmart_ ," he said. " _We of Coda doesn't mind most of them, and indeed, the prevailing attitude towards the likes of some demi-humans is indifference. But others hate and fear them, and indeed, in Sadera, most demi-humans are seen as less than human, even Elves, even if they're not generally seen as demi-humans._ "

Harry knew this somewhat already, at least in broad terms. However, Rory then added something interesting. " _Of course, some demi-humans are war-like brutes. It depends on the species and the mores of the particular group they belong to. The worst group is the Haryo. They're demi-humans who are part-breeds, usually between two different demi-human species, and who are generally shunned even by demi-human society, often unjustly. The Empire considers them a nuisance at best, but they're surprisingly well-organised. Of course, other demi-humans have been persecuted rather unjustly. The Bunny Warriors, for example._ "

Lelei nodded, picking up the story. " _The Bunny Warriors were semi-nomadic warriors. Originally, they were quite savage and were a major problem for the Empire and others, but eventually, they settled down and became relatively peaceful, or at least less belligerent towards others. However, three years ago, the Empire used an old dispute as an excuse to go to war against the Bunny Warriors. Prince Zorzal El Caesar won, but through a war of attrition. That, and apparently the Queen of the Bunny Warriors, Tyuule, betrayed her people out of fear for her life, and begged to be spared. The Bunny Warriors were decimated, many enslaved. Others remain at large, many of those having ties to the Formal Clan of Italica._ "

Rory rolled her eyes. " _Don't believe everything you hear from Zorzal's mouth. Anyway, the Formal Clan of Italica is known for harbouring demi-humans. Officially, they're employed as servants, but unofficially, the late Count Formal acted to make his city a refuge for demi-humans. In truth, he had a bit of a fetish for them, but he, unlike many lords in this world, also kept his hands to himself, content to look but not touch. He has Bunny Warriors, Catgirls, even a Medusa, and you know how rare those are, Lelei._ "

" _Great, xenophobia is alive and well here_ ," Harry snarked. " _So the reason we didn't see them was there aren't that many in these lands?_ "

" _Disappointed?_ " Rory asked.

" _A little, though Itami and Kurata are more likely to be_ ," Harry said. " _They're what they call otakus. I don't know what the equivalent term in your language would be. Consider someone who is utterly obsessed with certain genres of fiction, and while they aren't actually crazy, it's sometimes hard to tell._ "

" _Oh, a bit like a religious fanatic, only with fiction_ ," Rory said.

" _Not quite, but not far from it._ " Harry then looked at Tuka. " _Do you remember when we first found you, how Kurata was yelling for joy? It was because he got to meet a beautiful Elf. I got angry with him because, well, you'd just lost your family and friends, at least until I realised your father was still alive._ "

" _Oh. I wondered what that was. He was pleased to meet me…because I was an Elf?_ "

" _Yes. Remember, the only Elves I know of back home are those brownies, whereas there're Elves like you in stories. Actually, I've got my copy of_ Lord of the Rings _, and maybe one of the folks around here has the movie._ "

"Lord of the Rings?" Lelei asked.

" _It's a story, like a myth, written by an author called JRR Tolkien, about a group of adventurers who set off to destroy a malevolent magical ring_ …"

 **CHAPTER 5 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **And I think there's a good point to end the chapter. Next chapter, some more preamble prior to Italica, with some more character development, especially for Tuka and Shino. In the original story, the next chapter didn't exist, and I slotted it in to give that needed character development.**

 **Review-answering time!** **Loamy Coffee** **: Yes, sadly, there's that, and of course, Giselle. That's how Yao's still entering the story, after all.**

 **Agurra of the Darkness** **: Oh, don't worry, I have plans in place for Tyuule. She won't be part of Harry's harem…but I think what I plan for her will surprise many of you, and pleasantly so.**

 **rmarcano321** **: Hmm…favourite character…it'd have to be Rory Mercury hands down. As disturbing and scary as she is at times, she is also Awesome with a capital A.**

 **Leicontis** **: Yep, you got my term for that trope down pat. I find it rather hilarious, that term, 'Veil-Assisted Transdimensional Pratfall', but it's also such a handy plot device, as other fanfic writers have shown.**

 **Lord Mortenson** **: No. The harem is strictly Harry/Tuka/Shino/Yao. In my original version of this story, I actually considered making it a Harry/Pina fic, but it didn't quite mesh for me, and as other people wanted Tuka in the pairing, I decided, for once, to go with it.**

 **Celestia GF of the Void** **: It actually is unfair AND unhelpful. Comments like these actually can stifle my creativity and potentially halt progress on my fics. I can't help where my muse goes, and you have absolutely no right whatsoever to dictate what I should or should not be writing. I try to at least write as many chapters as possible before I lose interest. And I do try to update my older fics, even if it's on an irregular and infrequent basis. So while it's great that you enjoy my fics, reviews like this do not help matters.**

 **Aurora Halsey** **: Actually Shino IS a Sergeant 1** **st** **Class in** ** _GATE_** **canon, but it's easier just to write 'sergeant'. It's probably incorrect as far as military nomenclature is concerned, but I've never been a fan of the military. So her promotion to a Sergeant-Major is not a big leap.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	7. Chapter 6: Of Relationships

**CHAPTER 6:**

 **OF RELATIONSHIPS**

It was the second night after their return, and Harry couldn't sleep, his mind plagued by nightmares of the Flame Dragon, twisted up with his memories of the First Task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Harry got up and wandered out of his tent, looking up at the skies. Ridiculously clear skies, he realised. The stars glittered in patterns that were mostly unfamiliar. He was sure the Milky Way was there in the sky, but that was it.

As he looked up at the sky, he then thought he heard something. Singing. Gentle, ethereal singing. Quiet enough to avoid disturbing the sleepers present in the tent city that had been erected for the refugees from Coda, but still noticeable.

He walked over to the source, to find Tuka seated at the table they had used for meals earlier, singing softly to herself, dressed in her green outfit from her village. Her eyes were bloodshot, and it was clear she had been crying. Harry, without trying to scare her, went around to the other side of the table, and sat down. She noticed him, and then squeaked a little, startled. " _Harry, you frightened me!_ "

" _Sorry. I heard you singing. What was that song? It was beautiful._ "

" _Oh. Umm, it was_ The Lament of Solas," Tuka said. " _Solas Em Marceau was my great-great-grandfather, and a renowned warrior of my people. He died to save his people when a large group of ogres attacked our village about one thousand years ago. I wish I had my harp. The song is best with accompaniment from a harp._ "

" _Oh. Sorry._ "

" _No, it's fine. At least our dead can rest in peace knowing that that monster is dead_ ," she said. " _But I couldn't sleep. I had nightmares. I saw my friends burned alive or eaten by that thing again. I_ …" She shivered. " _Why does that beast haunt me so even after it is dead?_ "

" _I don't know. Maybe it's post-traumatic stress disorder or something like it._ "

" _Post-traumatic stress disorder?_ "

" _It's…an affliction of the mind. When people go through traumatic experiences like war or rape or being caught up in a natural disaster, sometimes the memories and feelings haunt them. And given that you survived what happened, but you lost so much, well…listen, I'm sure the JSDF have counsellors, people who specialise in healing the mind. They won't be able to do much for your father, but they can help you if you want._ "

Tuka nodded, still looking morose. For a moment, she seemed to be working up the courage to ask something, before she finally did. " _Umm…forgive me for being forward, but…do you or Sergeant Kurokawa have any, umm…paramours?_ " The last word was all but whispered, and given her fidgeting, she was clearly embarrassed.

Harry stared at her in shock. Did she just ask him if either Mari or himself were seeing someone? Eventually, he said, " _Well, Mari isn't, but if I'm reading you correctly…well, she doesn't swing that way as far as I know. She prefers men, though she has high standards._ "

" _Oh_ ," Tuka said, blushing in embarrassment. " _Umm, and you?_ "

"… _I went on a blind date with Shino, but that was the day the Gate opened up on Japan, and we haven't exactly been able to have a date since. So I can't say. I'd have to talk with her._ "

" _Oh. I…I usually prefer women to men_ ," Tuka admitted. " _There are some men I like, but they're usually taken by other women, and while some of my people are open to polyamory, others aren't. Besides, I'm considered young by our people's standards, so when I've made advances, I'm dismissed as being too young. But you, well…you've been so gentle and kind and helpful, and you saved my life, and_ …" She trailed off.

Oh. _Ohhh_. Harry tried to keep the dismay off his face. Was this going to be like Ginny all over again? Quietly, he asked, " _Tuka, are you saying you like me because I saved you?_ " She nodded, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment again. " _Okay…I'll be honest with you. I'm flattered to have the attention of such a beautiful woman, but…is that really a reason to be smitten with me? If I wasn't as nice as you thought I was, I could have taken advantage of those feelings. Besides…that sort of thing doesn't always work out. I speak from experience._ "

" _Oh?_ " Tuka asked, curious rather than offended by Harry's words.

" _Back home, amongst the hidden mage communities, I am famous as 'the Boy Who Lived', thanks to me surviving an instant death curse nobody else could as a baby. It was thanks to my mother that I survived, by the way. I didn't know it because I was raised by relatives, but I was famous for that. There was this girl who grew up on these stories, thinking I'd be her white knight. I actually saved her life after she was possessed by a warlock, and, well, she still was infatuated with me. There even came a point where we started dating…but we both realised, it wasn't working out. We ended it without it going too badly. It's just…her feelings were for the 'Boy Who Lived', and not Harry Potter. She fell in love with a figure of legend, not the person. She wanted a knight in shining armour, not an orphan boy who would give up his fame and money if it meant his parents could be alive again._ "

Tuka, to her credit, accepted these words, even if she didn't look happy about them. " _So…what does that mean? Are you saying no, or are you just saying you want us to get to know each other?_ "

" _The latter, of course. That way, if it turns out we do want to continue, well, we can do that. And if not, well, hopefully it'll be without any real problems, right? Though I'm a little worried about how Shino will react._ "

" _Umm, can I talk to her? I wouldn't want to get between you two_ ," Tuka said. " _While polyamory is one thing, it has to be based on mutual consent of all parties involved._ "

" _I didn't mean polyamory, I meant…oh, never mind_ …"

* * *

Tuka must've spoken to Shino fairly early the next morning, because later that morning, Shino came over to Harry while he was showing Lelei one of the books he brought over. "Hey, Harry, can we talk?"

"Sure." To Lelei, he said, " _Sorry, Sergeant-Major Kuribayashi wants to talk with me. Will you be fine?_ "

Lelei nodded. " _I believe I have grasped some of the written language. I will pick up more of it as I go along. Thank you._ "

Harry stood, and joined Shino, who walked away from the table they had been using, and a little out of the way of everyone else. She leaned up against a wall, crossing her arms, and giving Harry an irritated look. "Let me guess…Tuka?"

Shino nodded. "Thank whatever god is listening that Rory was there to act as a translator," she said. "I think Rory was tempted to mess with the translation just to mess with me, but I asked her not to. She said she would translate faithfully, as a courtesy to one of Emroy's favoured. I swear, that girl is fucked in the head. I'm glad she's on our side for now, or at least not our enemy. She's like a stray cat that's adopted an owner. But enough about her. Tuka came up to me this morning and began asking about us. Said you two spoke last night when you couldn't sleep. Asked whether you or Mari were seeing anyone. And she said that you told her that Mari didn't swing that way, and you were seeing me. Not to mention you were worried about the whole rescue infatuation thing."

"Well, yeah. She even said she'd be willing to be involved in a polyamorous relationship. I mean, what do you say to that?" Harry asked, flinging his hands into the air. "I just suggested that we get to know each other, because, well, I'm not even sure how things are with you. We only had that one date, and we had those idiots in the Imperial Army being gooseberries."

"Gooseberries?"

"Uhh, third wheel? You know, unwanted companions?" On Shino's enlightened expression, he then said, "After everything that happened since, we never really had a moment to even date. We socialise, true, but that's mostly with Mari. So, I'm wondering, are we just friends, can we go for more than that, or what?"

Shino sighed quietly. "…I'll be honest, I dunno. For one thing, I'm not sure whether this'd count as fraternisation as far as the JSDF's rules are concerned. You're not actually part of the JSDF, just a civvie contractor, but given what you've done, I reckon the line is pretty damned blurry. For another, given what you and Mari have told me about your life, I wasn't sure you were ready for another girlfriend. Some idiots are calling me a Christmas Cake, even though I ain't 25 yet, but I'm not just going to hook up with any old guy. Yeah, you're smart, compassionate, funny, and you cook some great meals. But you've been through shit I had never gone through. Hell, going on this expedition to this world was the first time I've seen any real action. So what if I remind you of something or someone that you'd lost? You're a child soldier, Harry. Don't get me wrong, we're definitely friends, and it'll take a lot for me to want to break that off. But are we more than that? I dunno. But if Tuka's offering, take it. You deserve some happiness."

"What about you?"

Shino shrugged. "Plenty of fish in the sea. And frankly, I'm glad you're not jumping all over that polyamory thing Tuka offered. I mean, I may just consider it for the right guy and girl, but this isn't some harem anime or some H-Game for some weirdo to jerk off to. This is reality. Tuka's a nice girl though, and to be frank, I'm sorry about what happened to her people and her father. She doesn't deserve that shit. You can't help but want to be friends with her. I'm glad you're being friendly with her, and that Lelei girl, and Rory. The more people we have on our side, the better. Though I reckon some people will exploit that."

"Exploit that?" Harry asked.

Shino's face screwed up in disgust. "You know Hazama's aide, Yanagida? I overheard him talking to Itami the other day, something about using the goodwill we generated as a means of paving the way to exploit resources here. Minerals, oil, etc. Yeah, I understand this place is an opportunity for the corporations, but we're here to ensure these idiots in the Empire don't fuck with us again, and we're trying to help people in the process, not take what is really their own stuff. That shit happened too many times back home, exploiting the ignorant. I actually confronted Itami on that later, and he agrees with me, thankfully. It's one thing to trade fairly with these people for these resources, and even then on a small scale. But to speak of such things…though Yanagida does have a point in one way. Other countries are envious of Japan for having access to the Gate, and the resources within. Apparently President Obama's fine with it, but Dirrel, one of the really hardcore Republicans, is raising a stink about needing more of an American presence here. There's dissent in a few other countries too. And word on the street is that we're going to be getting UN observers in soon to keep an eye on things."

"That's a good thing, right?"

"I hope so. But keep in mind, after the fuck-ups during the War on Terror, we're going to be scrutinised to make sure we don't make the same mistakes. Hell, I've heard rumours that the casualty report from the Flame Dragon's attack on the convoy got leaked to the press, and questions are already being asked in the Diet. This is why I hate politics. Even when we try to do the right thing, we get screamed at."

"Story of my life," Harry remarked.

He was glad he and Shino had this talk. It helped clear the air, and he was glad the hotblooded JSDF soldier wasn't holding anything against him. The last thing he needed was his life getting more complications. Then again, he knew that, before long, they'd probably be heading to Italica. He hoped that there wouldn't be any complications there. But, as Potter Luck would have it, it was a vain hope indeed…

 **CHAPTER 6 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, this chapter wasn't in the original, but I wrote it in to give some development to both Tuka and Shino, as well as to lay the foundations of the harem without it being, well, ridiculously fast-moving. Harry has a sex drive, but he also cares about the women involved. So by talking it out, he's actually gained some respect from both Tuka and Shino. Tuka is used to a world where men have a habit of taking advantage of others, while Shino has her usual combative personality. By talking things over and explaining his reasons, Harry got their respect.**

 **I'm actually going to take a break from posting chapters for now. I do have the next three chapters written, covering the story up to the arrival in Japan after Italica, and I'd actually like to write more of the Japan trip before I post more. In any case, it'll give some time for this story to rest before I start spamming daily chapters again.**

 **Review-answering time! I haven't written in their reactions to** ** _Lord of the Rings_** **. I'll do that for the post-Japan chapters.**

 **Blaze1992** **: Because Harry actually bothered to talk to Shino (and Tuka also explained things), Shino isn't going to do that. Her acceptance of being part of a harem is going to be a slow-burning one, as with the rest of the romance, and she's not going to give up Harry, given that he's one of the few men not put off by her combative personality.**

 **rmarcano321** **: This chapter, particularly Harry and Tuka talking, along with the scene back in the fourth chapter where Rory counsels Harry.**

 **diagonalpumpkin** **: I try to remove that or mute that in my** ** _GATE_** **stories. I do point out, for example, why Japan had Article 9 inflicted on them in the first place in at least one of them. I also call out Yanagida's little attitude towards exploiting the Special Region.**

 **TorstenL** **: A crying shame, that. If you were willing to write a fanfic, I would have directed you to my challenges on the forums of DZ2 and whitetigerwolf. I have two Potterverse/** ** _GATE_** **challenges: 'Harry Mercury' has Harry raised by Rory, and 'The New Apostle of Hardy' has a female Harry (or, potentially, a genderbent Harry) being recruited as Hardy's Apostle. I have a number of other** ** _GATE_** **challenges on those forums too, so if your health problems clear up, feel free to give those a go.**

 **Jostanos** **: Oh. I didn't realise that. Oh well, never mind.**

 **Guest** **(regarding Hermione worshipping La and Elange): Depends on the deity. If they were decent sorts, Hermione would probably worship them, unless she was still religious for an Earth religion.**

 **Guest** **(regarding pairings): I have no concrete pairings for Itami or Kurata in mind. However, Tyuule is definitely being paired with her 'canon' pairing from the novels, Furuta.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	8. Chapter 7: Italica

**CHAPTER 7:**

 **ITALICA**

A few days later, having been told about the value of the wyvern scales and body parts already gathered by the JSDF, Tuka, Lelei and Rory decided to head to Italica, with the 3rd Recon Team heading with them. Hodor was left to be checked over by the medical team. They were hoping to try and establish friendly trading relations, and indeed friendly relations in general. However, not far out from the city, Lelei, who had made rather large strides in learning Japanese (and whom Kuwahara seemed to have taken a shine to, teaching her how to use a compass), said quietly, as she looked through binoculars, "I see smoke. I believe it is coming from Italica's direction."

"Of course it wouldn't be so simple," Harry snarked.

"It's artificial, I believe," the petite mage said, either not noticing Harry's sarcasm or disregarding it.

"Hmm…methinks I smell the stench of bloodshed on the air," Rory remarked, licking her lips.

"…Well that's ominous," Harry remarked.

It was only a short while after that the 3rd Recon Team came to Italica, a magnificent walled city that, nonetheless, had seen battle only recently. The smoke rising from the town and the bodies littered nearby told the tale. "Who do you think could've done this?" Itami asked.

"Bandits, most likely," Rory said. "Remember how I said a bunch of them were considering joining up with deserters from the armies you guys defeated? I'd bet money that they're to blame. Look at the bodies. Some of them have armour from the Imperial Army. A few have armour from some of the vassal states. And Italica is a trading city, not to mention being close to farmland."

"So these bastards are trying to give the Emperor one big fuck you?" Harry asked.

"Pretty much, though these idiots would probably think that they're sacrificing their victims to Emroy," Rory said with a scoff.

"Well, we're here," Itami said, before looking back at Harry. "Hey, Harry, why don't you take Lelei, Rory and Tuka out?"

"Why?" Mari asked.

"Lelei, Tuka and Rory are natives of this world, and Harry doesn't necessarily look like a soldier, ballistic vest and helmet aside. We need to be as unthreatening as possible," Itami said. "Hey, Harry, you can use a spell to protect yourself from an arrow or something, can't you?"

"Yeah."

"As can I," Lelei said, before quickly casting a spell.

Soon, the four of them had dismounted. After a moment, Harry used a _Sonorous_ on himself, and then called out, " _CITIZENS OF ITALICA! WE KNOW THIS MAY NOT BE THE BEST TIME, BUT WE'VE COME TO TRADE! WE COME IN PEACE!_ "

Eventually, the massive gate they were facing opened, to reveal a young woman about Harry's age in armour, rather expensive-looking armour at that. She had blood red hair framing regally beautiful features, and similarly-coloured eyes, and a simple tiara around her forehead. She looked understandably apprehensive, albeit in a restrained way. "Ohh, this is a surprise," Rory remarked. "No less august a personage than Princess Pina Co Lada herself."

"Oh, joy. Why do I feel a diplomatic incident coming on?" Harry asked, more to himself than anything. He approached gingerly, Rory, Tuka and Lelei in tow. Calming himself, he said, " _Lady Mercury says that you are Princess Pina Co Lada, yes?_ "

" _Indeed I am_ ," Pina said. " _Forgive my curtness, but what business do you have in Italica? You say you come here to trade…and yet, your conveyances and clothes are unfamiliar._ "

" _We have wyvern scales and other parts for trade. Princess, what has happened? Who has been attacking Italica?_ "

" _A rather massive army of bandits and marauders have been attacking. We've repelled them before, but they will be back_ ," Pina said. She then frowned, looking past Harry at the vehicles. " _And who are you?_ "

Harry sighed, knowing that he might scupper this if he wasn't careful. " _I am Harry Potter. I'm a mage working with these soldiers. We're not here to attack Italica, I promise you. In fact, if you wish, and our superiors give us the okay, we can help you defend it._ "

Pina, however, was clearly not stupid. She was looking between Harry, the Falmart natives, and the jeeps. After a moment, she said, " _Very well. I would like to speak to your superior officer._ "

Harry nodded, before calling back, " _Itami! She wants to talk!_ "

Itami got out, rifle lowered. To Pina, Harry said, " _This is 1_ _st_ _Lieutenant Youji Itami of the JSDF._ "

" _The Men in Green who killed the Flame Dragon_ …" Pina murmured to herself, before her eyes widened in realisation, and she returned her gaze to Harry. " _Wait…we met a former resident of Coda Village who claimed that a great mage called Harry Potter used a magic staff to slay the Flame Dragon with a mighty explosion_ …"

" _I didn't use a magic staff, and they helped distract it, but still…yes, I made the final blow_ ," Harry admitted, a little reluctantly. Not out of any diffidence or false modesty, but because he didn't like being reminded of the people who died that day.

" _Don't be modest, Harry_ ," Rory said with a teasing tone. " _Harry Potter, the Dragonslayer has a great ring to it, don't you think?_ "

Pina seemed to come to a decision before she said, " _Please, come with me, and bring Lieutenant Itami with you_ …"

* * *

The city streets were filled with exhausted people, many bearing the wounds of battle. They were led to a luxurious estate in the middle, Pina calling for a pair of other soldiers to accompany her, a girl in her mid-teens called Hamilton Uno Law and a grizzled older man called Grey Co Aldo. Rory told Harry and Itami that the latter was a commoner who rose to the rank of a knight.

Harry translated for Itami, with Rory making an occasional interjection, as well as Lelei. Apparently, Pina had come here to investigate what happened at Alnus Hill with her Rose Knights. However, riding ahead to Italica with a scouting force, she found herself forced to take command to save the city from the bandit hordes, as Countess Myui Formal, being only eleven, had little knowledge of leading an army.

Harry let Itami make the main decisions here. He was the actual military commander, and Harry was really a civilian. However, he got the feeling that Pina knew who they were, or at least suspected, an impression only heightened when she assigned the JSDF soldiers to the north and south gates. Itami's response to that suggested that they were being considered decoys, but he seemed content to go along with it, for now.

Harry, however, wasn't. " _And what if you're wrong, Princess? What if they attack the east or west gates? Those bandits are partly comprised of former soldiers, they might have just a notion of strategy._ "

Hamilton seemed affronted, and seemed about to object, before Harry shot her a glare that shut her up. Pina said, " _Then it is what it is._ "

"Hey, Itami?" Harry asked. "Do you have any spare walkie-talkies or something?"

"Sure. I'd have to get them from the jeep. You want the Princess to be able to call for help if necessary, right?"

"Yeah."

"Right. While I'm there, I'll radio the situation in. HQ might be able to get air support, they've towed helicopters through the Gate…"

* * *

Later, Pina was peering at the walkie-talkie she had been given curiously. " _What is this?_ " she asked.

" _It's a device called a radio_ ," Lelei said. " _I believe it uses an invisible form of light to transmit sounds, thus allowing for instant communication, or near enough. You press that button, and speak into it. Either myself, Harry, or Lady Mercury will ensure we can hear what you say, and thus translate for the JSDF._ "

" _Exactly,_ " Harry said. " _If they attack the east or west gates, at the very least, I can Apparate myself and Lady Mercury over, assuming there aren't any bandits attacking from that direction. In fact, if there aren't any there, I may Apparate others._ "

On Pina's confused look, Lelei explained, " _He uses a kind of magic that allows him to teleport called Apparition. It allows him to teleport to locations he can visualise._ "

" _Are you a sage at your age?_ " Hamilton yelped, the brown-haired teen's eyes wide.

" _Merlin, no!_ " Harry said. " _Now, listen. If Itami is lucky, we'll get air support._ "

" _Air support? Do you mean dragonriders?_ " Grey asked.

" _Not exactly_ ," Rory smirked…

* * *

As they waited at the south gate's battlement, the sun setting, Harry peered at the horse riders in the distance. "Huh…maybe we were wrong?"

"No," Kuwahara said. "There's not enough enemy troops. Plus, see those limestone cliffs? They'd stand out against them in the darkness. Unless they're idiots, they probably won't take the bait. Remember, many of these guys are deserters from the armies that attacked Alnus Hill."

"Right, thanks, Kuwahara. I'm pants at strategy, or at least military strategy. Do you reckon they'll attack the east gate?"

"Maybe. So, Lieutenant, are we getting that air support?"

Itami nodded. "We will, but we have to notify them when the attack has finally arrived. Plus, Major Higaki chewed me out something fierce. Apparently the Diet wants us back ASAP to answer questions about the Flame Dragon attack. Well, me in particular, the Ministry of Magic has managed to veto Harry being questioned. Lucky sod. Still, I'm not looking forward to this. Apparently Mizuki Kohara is going to be doing the questioning, and she's one of those types who tilts at windmills to further her career."

As he began fixing his night-vision goggles onto his helmet, with mixed success, Rory strutted over to Itami. "Here, let me. You know, I find it curious that the JSDF would help one of the heirs to the throne of the very empire you fight."

Itami squatted down, allowing Rory to attach it. "Well, it's to protect the innocents of this town, really. Anyway, she wasn't the one who sent all those people to their deaths. Didn't you tell Harry she was a decent person, anyway?"

"Uh-huh. And that's interesting. You actually meant what you said. Emroy may be a god of war and calamity, of crime and insanity, but motive is important. If you aren't truly righteous, instead doing things merely to slake your own desires, then the lies you tell yourself taint your soul. Believe me, I know. Sometimes, I even lie to myself. In battle, I do fall prey to a bloodlust, though I target the souls of those tainted by their own self-delusions. I wonder, are all the armies of your world the same?"

"I'd like to think so. But the reality may be different," Itami said sadly. "Hell, it may not even be the same for the rest of the JSDF. I really only joined as a reservist to support my hobbies."

"Hmm…and yet, here you are, fighting for a righteous cause."

"Yeah. I'm hoping to show the princess that there's another way, that we don't have to fight, that peace is possible."

Rory chuckled. "Oh, I like that. Are you going to scare her with the prowess of the JSDF? I like that thought…"

"Rory," Harry said quietly. "Scaring the princess is going to be a byproduct. We're not doing it for the sake of scaring her into submission. We're doing this to help Italica."

Rory pouted, until she noticed the unimpressed look on Harry's face. A more solemn smile came over her features. "…You actually have some empathy for her, despite that she's technically your enemy."

"It's her father who's to blame for the invasion. Anyway, you said she was a decent person."

"I did, didn't I? And you trusted my word?"

Harry looked at the petite demigoddess, before saying, "I thought it was trustworthy. Even before we met, we heard from the prisoners that you were notoriously fickle and neutral to the empire. Anyway, you remind me a little of a friend of mine, Luna, who was eccentric, but a good sort. Not as much a warrior as you, but sometimes, I think she just says and does things to get a reaction from people. Actually, she'd probably love to interview you for her newspaper. I get the feeling you wouldn't lie. At worst, you'd just be selective with the truth…or use words to get a rise out of people."

"Hmm…that's not inaccurate. Still, I hope we do get some battle here…"

* * *

"WHY ARE THEY ATTACKING OVER THERE?!"

Harry would have laughed at the childish petulance of Rory's wail if the situation wasn't so serious. It was now about 3 in the morning, and the bandits were attacking the east gate. Harry turned to rebuke Rory, only to see her sliding down to the ground, sitting down, writhing and moaning in a very disturbing matter. "Unnnghh…no…too much…it's coming inside me…ahhh…nooo…it's maddening! I can't hold it back! UHHH!"

As Tuka squeaked in embarrassment at Rory's disturbingly sexual display, and the others looked on with disturbed looks, Harry turned to Lelei. "What the actual hell is wrong with her?"

Lelei said, "As an Apostle of Emroy, Rory is a psychopomp for the souls of those who fall in battle. Her body acts as a conduit, and in close proximity to a battle, the effect of the souls passing through her has an effect not unlike an aphrodisiac."

"Sounds like something out of a bad H-Game to me," Itami said. "Can we help her?"

"It's not sexual lust but bloodlust being aroused," Lelei explained in her usual dispassionate tones. "Going into battle is the only thing that can slake it."

"The princess hasn't called us yet," Itami said. "I think she's…"

Whatever he was going to say was cut off by a crackle from the radio. " _This is Grey Co Aldo!_ " barked the voice of the grizzled Rose Knight. " _If you can hear me, the east gate is being attacked! If you can spare anyone, then bring them here now! Please, we beseech you!_ "

"Right. Harry, take Rory and get over there. We'll follow soon…"

"Oi! With all due respect, Sir, I want in on this too!" Shino barked.

"…Okay. Sergeant-Major Kuribayashi, go along too if you want. We'll follow in the jeeps. Don't get yourself killed, you three."

Harry sat down next to Rory. "Did you hear that, Rory? Hold on, and we'll get you there."

Rory all but clung to him, and Shino grabbed his hand. They soon Apparated…

* * *

…And then, they were stumbling out of the air next to Pina, Grey and Hamilton. The sharp crack of the Apparition seemed to startle Pina out of her dazed state. Harry looked around. At the moment, the bandits were still trying to climb the walls, but the men on the walls were fighting off bandits scaling them, including a Rose Knight, a young man with blonde hair called Norma Co Igloo. "What's happening?"

"Norma called out that there's a magic caster protecting the bandits from arrows," Grey said. "That's how they were able to get to the walls so quickly. Will three of you be enough?"

Rory just gave him a flat look, before leaping away from Harry and dashing towards the walls. "I think she'd be more than enough," Shino said, "but I've been itching for some action too."

"Then go!" Pina cried out in desperation. "Please, help them!"

Harry and Shino nodded, before dashing towards the battlements, Shino fixing a bayonet onto her rifle. "Finally, some real action," she said with a vicious grin.

They got to the battlements in time to see Rory save Norma from being skewered, before the bloodthirsty Apostle leapt down towards the bandit army. Harry went to the wall, and peered down, as Shino began opening fire on the bandits below. " _Oi!_ " he yelled at Norma. " _You said to the others there was a magic caster. Where are they?_ "

Norma, a little shaken after his brush with death, pointed into the distance, where a petite figure was surrounded by a blue-green glow. He decided to take a gamble, pointing his wand at the figure, and yelling, " _ACCIO!_ "

A distant shriek heralded the figure being pulled into the air, and zooming towards Harry, crashing into him. He quickly rolled on top of the figure, and was startled to find that it was a petite girl, a few years his junior, with green feathers for hair, feathers covering her forearms, and bird-like legs. He pointed his wand at her face. " _Surrender_ ," he said in their language.

She nodded hurriedly. " _I surrender, I surrender! I was kidnapped by those bastards anyway!_ "

Harry nodded, though he Stunned her and tied her up with conjured ropes for good measure, dragging her aside, before peering over the wall gingerly. "Shino, how are we doing?"

"It's like ducks in a shooting gallery, but my ammo won't last forever! I hope the air support's on its way!" Shino yelled back. "Can you use some of your spells?!"

Harry nodded, before he looked over at the bandits. Taking care to avoid hitting Rory, he began firing Blasting Hexes. Bandits were flung into the air by the explosions. He mixed it up by using the Magnum pistol he had been issued with, but he only had a few clips.

Just as daybreak began to arrive, though, as Shino's ammo began to run out, and Harry's magical reserves with them, the young wizard could hear music in the distance. Familiar music. "…Is that _Ride of the Valkyries?_ " he asked incredulously.

"Woohoo! The cavalry's here!" Shino cheered. "About time!"

"That is such a cliché, using that music," Harry growled, before he called out to Rory, "RORY! GET BACK HERE! THE REINFORCEMENTS HAVE ARRIVED!"

Rory emitted a disappointed groan, but soon, she was leaping up back onto the battlements, covered in blood. "Well, this ought to be interesting, to witness the JSDF's war machines in action," she remarked, as if discussing the weather.

Interesting was one way of putting it. Sickening was another. While Harry thought that these men deserved to die, considering they wanted to rape and pillage Italica and its citizens, to witness the ensuing slaughter by the attack helicopters was something he couldn't bear to watch. As much as some people claimed he was a child soldier, he wasn't a trained soldier. He had seen death, witnessed it…but this mass killing, while justified, made him turn away.

However, as he did so, he could see Pina, Grey and Hamilton approaching, and witnessing the horror for themselves. And he knew that they were experiencing major culture shock, witnessing a weapon that disregarded all notions of swordfighting and the like. And, feeling pity for Pina, he said quietly, with sympathy in his voice, " _That's who your father tried to attack. Can you see why that was a very bad idea now?_ "

Pina's mute nod, her crimson eyes wide and her face pale, was all he needed to see. He really did feel sorry for her. All her notions about warfare had been shattered, first by the actions of the bandits, and then by the JSDF. Maybe she could be the ally they needed within the Empire proper…

 **CHAPTER 7 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, the battle of Italica has been done. The next chapter will deal with the aftermath, as well as Harry's developing relationships with Shino and Tuka.**

 **I've decided to post this chapter and the next one over the next little while. I have written up to Chapter 10, but I want to finish the next chapter at least.**

 **Incidentally, before I go onto the reviews, I have a couple of confessions to make: I'm having second thoughts about including Yao, or indeed anyone else, in the harem, other than Shino and Tuka. The reason why is the way the characters are developing: Shino's willing to share Harry with Tuka because, well, Tuka is Tuka, a sweet, nice girl who it's virtually impossible to hate. Yao, on the other hand, is another matter entirely. Shino would be most likely to see Yao as a potential threat to her relationship with Harry otherwise. I'm finding it harder and harder to justify putting in Yao into the relationship given what I've written so far. I might eventually pair her with Itami (gotta throw the dorky otaku a bone that isn't underaged or looks that way), but I'm finding it increasingly difficult to justify putting Yao in. So, if Yao doesn't end up in the harem, please don't be disappointed. It may be that I just bring the whole thing to a Harry/Shino/Tuka threeway pairing.**

 **Secondly, I've been considering publishing** ** _Worlds Apart_** **, but I've realised that I have written myself into a corner a little with that, given that this is a Harry still weighed down by the baggage of his past. So I might go back and do another story with the same pairing (Harry/Lelei/Myuute), or a similar pairing. I've been thinking up some interesting challenges too, and if you're interested, check out the forums of DZ2 and whitetigerwolf.**

 **Review-answering time!** **Lord Mortenson** **: Only Hermione is planned for now.**

 **Kaiya Azure** **: Yes, they do. The author named a lot of his characters in the Rose Knights and the Empire after alcoholic drinks.**

 **YuukiAsuna-Chan** **: Screaming makes attacks more powerful. If there's one thing I have learned from anime, it's that. :P**

 **diagonalpumpkin** **: Actually, Shino's not actually bisexual per se. It's more like Tuka is so sweet and nice that she can't help but give her a pass. Tuka's easy to make friends with, and Shino's basically making her like a best friend, on a par with Mari.**

 **Leicontis** **: That it is…and that is scarily apposite…though I think Rory and the JSDF's Queen song would be** ** _We Will Rock You_** **.**

 **Agurra of the Darkness** **: I have no plans for Dudley to appear for now, but who knows?**

 **jgkitarel** **: I'm a civilian, so please forgive the mistakes in military nomenclature. I'm trying to be consistent here as much as possible, even if it's technically wrong. If so, MST3K Mantra, please.**

 **OBSERVER01** **: I guessed that the Tower Tag listed on the Wikipedia article MIGHT be a laser tag game, but I couldn't be sure, so I avoided making an assumption.**

 **IlluminatedChaos** **: It's a good series, but just be warned about the very strong Japanese nationalism in it, the 'Japan, fuck yeah!' attitude. Plus, there's a rape scene in Episode 13, seen in silhouette instead of truly explicitly (thank goodness), but it's worth pointing out to those who don't like those scenes, or could be triggered.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	9. Chapter 8: Return to Alnus

**CHAPTER 8:**

 **RETURN TO ALNUS**

Pina stared at Harry as he explained the reasons why they were here. He was no diplomat, but he was trying to explain as best as he could, with Lelei and Rory's help, that the JSDF weren't here to do what she feared. Their main interest was to try and get the Empire to back down, not to destroy or conquer it. This only assured her a little, though Itami's terms for the treaty here helped matters. Pina thought that they were going to demand more than trade concessions and POWs. She even seemed astonished that POWs would be treated humanely. Not to mention the JSDF soldiers who had come with the helicopters were helping the clean-up effort.

However, on discussion with Pina, who revealed that the Rose Knights were coming with reinforcements, and Grey's observations that a few of her subordinates might believe Pina was being held captive, Harry voiced an opinion to Itami that they should delay heading back to Alnus until those subordinates came along, just in case one of them got it into their heads to attack. Itami agreed, though he left notifying HQ to Kuwahara.

In the meantime, after the treaty was finalised, and Itami began rounding up some of the prisoners to bring back to Alnus (including the bird girl Harry captured, whom he learned was a Siren called Myuute Luna Sires), Harry and Shino took a little stroll around the town. Technically, Shino was on patrol, but Itami knew that Shino and Harry needed to talk. "Jeez, talk about culture shock," Shino said, looking down at where Pina, Hamilton and Grey were discussing something in the square below. "I guess I should admire her skill in keeping this town safe until we got here, but that kid's green as anything."

"She's only a year younger than me, Shino," Harry said. "Anyway, the Rose Knights were well-trained, they just hadn't experienced war on this scale like those bandits wanted to wage. To say nothing of choppers and machine guns. Speaking of those bandits, I was called in with Lelei and Rory to help translate. Most of them were deserters from Alnus. Their desire was really to sacrifice this town to Emroy, as well as to give one big fuck you to the Emperor. Rory wanted to kill many of them then and there, and frankly, I would have let her if it weren't for the treaty. Some of them were just desperate men, though, or conscripted like Myuute."

"Glad Rory's on our side. I don't think any modern weapons could put her down for long. Hell, I'm not sure even a nuke would be more than a minor inconvenience," Shino said. "And Japan doesn't have a nuclear arsenal. Then again, considering Hiroshima and Nagasaki…" She shook her head. "Never mind. D'you reckon the princess will hold up her side of the bargain?"

"If she doesn't, it won't be through any fault of her own," Harry said. "I saw the look on her face. She doesn't want anything to happen to her people. The problem is going to be her family, if what Rory said was true. Her father was the one responsible for sending the army through in the first place. And Zorzal is an idiot more set on gaining glory and sex slaves than ruling properly. Plus, Itami has heard from other recon teams that a bunch of villages have had their crops burned and their wells poisoned, with the inhabitants herded elsewhere."

"…Wait a moment…those are scorched earth tactics," Shino hissed in displeasure. "They're trying to deny food and water to invaders. It won't work as much on a modern military in this situation, but the Emperor's deliberately caused his people misery to try and deny our advance! Son of a bitch!"

"I know. Mari was pissed too, as was I. We confronted Pina on that, and she was horrified. While it's a tactical move, she also cares about the people of the Empire. Hell, she actually stated that if it weren't for the fact that I was with the JSDF, she would petition to make me a lord for killing the Flame Dragon, and she was considering it anyway. I kept trying to tell her it was a team effort, that I wouldn't have been able to kill it without your help, but she wouldn't hear of it."

Shino chuckled. Then, her face became solemn. "I wonder how Tuka's father is doing. You can tell the poor girl's worrying her head off. What the Flame Dragon did to her village must've been hell. And to have your own father unable to remember you…"

Harry nodded. "That's got to be hard. And another reason for me not to put the moves on her. She's a mess in the head, and I don't want to take advantage of that. I'd want to comfort her, yes, but not take advantage of her. I'm not like Kurata, geeking out over these fantasy beings. Seriously, when he went to the tavern the other day and met that Bunny Warrior Delilah, he was so bloody loud, it wasn't funny. At least Itami, as much of an otaku as he is, restrains himself."

"Yeah, I'll give him that. I saw Kurata meet one of the Countess' maids, that Catgirl Persia, and I think you can imagine what happened. Thankfully, she was flattered by the interest, or else he'd be looking like a scratching post by now. It's weird, thinking that the old Count had a fetish for demi-humans but had a strict look but don't touch policy. He must've been a gentleman if the demi-humans speak so highly of him after he died. Any of them catch your eye?"

Harry looked askance at Shino. "If I had to pick them on looks, I'd have to pick Mamina. She and Delilah were definitely lookers, plus, they kick arse. But I've got you and Tuka to think about where possible relationships are concerned, I'm not looking to create a harem."

"Good. And Harry, I'm not gonna ask you to choose between Tuka and myself. We're not even remotely at the stage of our relationships where that's going to be a problem yet, and frankly, I _like_ Tuka. Besides, Itami and Kurata are the ones who'd want harems, not you. Then again, you probably deserve some happiness in your life. Hey, speak of the devil, and here she is…"

Tuka was standing at the battlements, looking into the distance. Harry knew that High Elves had keener hearing and sight, albeit the former more than the latter. On their approach, she looked at them, and smiled. "Oh, Harry, Shino!" She was gradually learning English and Japanese, thanks to patient tuition with Harry, Lelei and Rory. "Itami put me here to…watch? For Rose Knights." Her English was broken. "Pina say they here sunset."

Harry switched to the local language. " _Tuka, I don't mind acting as a translator when needed. I know you should learn these languages, but you don't have to say them like you did._ "

" _I know, Harry, but I want to practise it. Besides, we Elves generally learn by copying others_ ," Tuka said. " _I want to be able to talk like you. Can you teach me how to use that translation charm at least?_ "

" _Maybe, but you use a different kind of magic to us, right? Lelei told me it was spiritual magic innate to Elves_ ," Harry said.

" _Well, yes, but there actually isn't anything preventing us from learning other magic, to my knowledge. Only that spiritual magic is innate to us_ ," Tuka said.

" _Well, it's one of the more complicated charm out there, so it might be a while._ " To Shino, he said, "She wants me to teach her the translation charm. It'll take some time to teach her. Do you want to go on, or wait here?"

"I'll go on. If it works, that'd be great," Shino said, before she headed off.

" _Now, Tuka, usually, you need a wand for this, but this is how you cast it wandlessly_ …"

* * *

It took the best part of an hour and a half to teach Tuka the spell, but eventually, despite Harry's earlier fears, she managed to get it down. The moment she realised she could understand English, she instantly glomped Harry, laughing with joy.

And just in time, too. They looked to the distance, and saw a dust cloud. Tuka saw, and Harry confirmed with binoculars, that it was a group of horseriders, led by a young woman with blonde hair, and another young woman with short, grey hair. They matched the descriptions Pina had given of Bozes Co Palesti and Panache Fure Kalgi. Touching his wand to his throat, he called out, " _Who goes there?!_ "

The horseriders halted, and Bozes and Panache looked up at them. Bozes declared, haughtily, " _I am Bozes Co Palesti, the Gold Rose, second daughter of the Marquis Palesti, and the second in command to Princess Pina Co Lada! Who dares address me in such a brusque manner?_ "

Harry frowned. He'd been under the impression that Grey was Pina's second in command, and he didn't like this girl's tone. " _I dare. The princess is alive and well, as is most of her Rose Knights. She has come to no harm. We helped her defend the city of Italica from the bandits threatening it, and we have negotiated terms. Hamilton Uno Law is present just beyond this gate with a copy of the treaty. Kindly make no move to violate its terms, Gold Rose._ "

Bozes scowled, but she moved her horse through the gate, as did Panache and some of the others. Harry went to look at the town gate, where Hamilton, upon seeing Bozes, approached her. Harry heard Bozes and Hamilton have a rather heated discussion as to whether Pina was a prisoner of the JSDF, before she headed for the residence of the countess. Hamilton had a considerably less heated discussion with Panache. Harry couldn't hear most of it, but he got the impression that they were worried that Pina was a prisoner of the JSDF.

Thankfully, Bozes and Pina came out, with Itami and Lelei in tow, the latter acting as an interpreter. Eventually, Pina and Bozes seemed to come to a decision, and Itami seemed to reluctantly agree to it after Lelei relayed it to him. "Oi!" he called up to Harry. "We're finally heading back to Alnus, and the princess and her second in command is coming with us. Get ready to move out first thing tomorrow!"

* * *

As they travelled back to Alnus early the next morning, Harry and Tuka were in the back of the jeep with Lelei, Pina and Bozes. The two of them had changed into elaborate robes, presumably emissary robes or something. Pina in particular looked morose. " _Hey, Princess, at least nobody caused too much ruckus_ ," Harry said. " _I told you the JSDF weren't here to conquer you guys._ "

" _Words mean little_ ," Pina said morosely. " _I hope at least the JSDF honour parley._ "

" _They should._ "

* * *

They soon got to Alnus, with Pina and Bozes staring through the windows, watching as the JSDF practised using their firearms. " _What in the world is this magic?_ " she hissed.

" _It's not magic, Princess. They are a form of tool known as a firearm, that uses a small chemical explosive to propel a crafted piece of metal at high speed_ ," Lelei said. " _The technology here is centuries in advance of our own, and would be hard to replicate._ "

" _How did you kill the Flame Dragon, then, Harry?_ " Bozes asked.

" _I used a weapon called a rocket launcher, a weapon that fires a fast-moving explosive. The explosive is designed to go through thick armour._ " He indicated a tank through the window. " _They're designed to destroy that._ "

Pina looked at it in horror, and then saw the head of the Flame Dragon itself, now mounted on a pike near the entrance to Alnus proper. "… _This can't be real. Our Empire…it's over_ …"

" _At the very least, your father, the Emperor, picked the wrong world to invade_ ," Lelei said dispassionately.

" _And you don't feel anything about that? The very Empire you yourself are a subject of?_ " Pina demanded of the teenaged mage.

Lelei was impassive, though Harry got the impression that she didn't like such an insinuation, and was actually rather irritated. " _Princess, I am of the Rurudo nomads. Our allegiance is not to the Empire, no matter what your father may believe._ "

" _Hey, just calm down, okay_ ," Harry said quietly. " _Anyway, the Princess shouldn't be held accountable for what her father did._ "

" _And what exactly did the Emperor do?_ " Bozes sniffed.

Harry gave her a glare. " _His soldiers looted, pillaged and raped their way through innocent civilians. And before you say that is impossible, I watched it happen right in front of me, as did Sergeant-Major Kuribayashi and 1_ _st_ _Lieutenant Itami. We even have means of recording events as moving images called videos. In truth, you two will probably need bodyguards if you have to speak to someone in Japan, as many people lost their lives in that. And they're stupid enough to blame someone who doesn't deserve it. Believe me, I speak from experience._ "

Pina and Bozes paled, even as they approached the entrance to Alnus. Harry didn't want to scare them, but he needed to impress on them how much the Emperor had fucked up. Hopefully, Pina would be able to get the Empire to come to the table.

Then again, Sod's Law always had its place in Harry's life…

 **CHAPTER 8 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, Pina and Bozes are heading back to Alnus, Harry, Shino and Tuka are getting closer, and Japan is in the next chapter! Which, admittedly, probably won't be out for a little while, as I want to actually finish writing the Japan visit arc before I post it (about 3, maybe 4 chapters, of which I have written 2 and a half).**

 **It's worth pointing out that, for this fic, the whole debacle of the Americans, Chinese and Russians coming to do their little snatch and grab of the Falmart residents won't be happening in this fic. That's one of the parts of** ** _GATE_** **I don't like, and while I did use it to a small degree in** ** _Parva Sub Ingenti_** **(albeit without the Americans) and pretty close to** ** _GATE_** **canon in** ** _GATE: Thus the Chosen One Fought There_** **, here, that's not going to happen. Barack Obama is in the White House in this story, and while some elements of the world's governments are envious of the Japanese for having the Gate, it's going to be restricted more to the UN having a small supervisory presence in Alnus.**

 **Review-answering time! Thanks for your support in removing Yao from the pairing. I'm going to pair her with Itami later.**

 **Gabriel Herrol** **: Actually, Rory has less than a century. But I like the way I've developed her relationship with Harry here. While I made her more like a cat that's adopted a family in** ** _Parva Sub Ingenti_** **, albeit with some deeper moments, it was how I portrayed her in** ** _GATE: Thus the Chosen One Fought There_** **that got me to do her as more of a mentor figure. While she's fun as this bloodthirsty pint-sized juggernaut of killing, I wanted to give her some depth, emphasize points that, while there in the anime, aren't as pronounced. As mentioned before, I view her as being a more bloodthirsty version of the Doctor from** ** _Doctor Who_** **, giving her some of the pathos of some of them.**

 **JDS62** **: While I understand your misgivings, the truth is, one of the reasons many of my fics go unfinished is due to motivation and my muse. I can only work on a fic as long as my muse cooperates, and I try to get a story at least up to 20K words or about 8 chapters before I publish it so that, even if it does get abandoned, my readers have something substantial to read. Also, it's worth pointing out that this year, I finished four stories, five if you count my annual Halloween one-shot. Few of my stories are abandoned or dead until I say so, either.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	10. Chapter 9: Back to Japan

**CHAPTER 9:**

 **BACK TO JAPAN**

Sadly for Tuka, there was no change to her father's condition. However, while he didn't actually remember Tuka, he had accepted that she was his daughter, and that he had lost his memories. And while that was little consolation to the younger High Elf, it was something. Hodor, however, expressed curiosity about the world beyond the Gate, and it was decided that, besides Pina and Bozes, Hodor, Tuka, Lelei and Rory would be going to Japan as well. Indeed, aside from Hodor, those three, along with Itami, were being called up to speak before the Diet, with Mari, Shino and Tomita coming along as well. Harry would be sending along a deposition with Itami, one that Mari had to edit, to remove the stronger language, basically telling this Mizuki Kohara to fuck off.

Harry also got some more welcome news. Hermione had come over to Japan. Harry remembered mentioning her offhand to Hazama as being someone who could teach Lelei a lot of things, shortly before they went to Italica.

Hodor would also be brought to a hospital, to see if they could find out what was wrong with him. Harry had given Hazama and Yanagida the drum, as did Mari: Hodor wasn't going to become anyone's lab rat. They could take blood samples with consent, a few x-rays, and do the MRI. Beyond that, nothing, no matter how tempted others were. With Tuka's consent, a couple of trained Mind Healers would be looking at Hodor as well, seeing if they could help.

It was decided that Harry and Mari would accompany Hodor to the hospital for the MRI, while Itami, Tuka, Lelei and Rory spoke at the Diet. Meanwhile, Pina and Bozes would be heading to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to speak with the Vice-Minister, one Reiko Shirayuri, and an official who might eventually become the Japanese diplomat to Falmart, Kouji Sugawara. Afterwards, they would rendezvous and head to a hotel overnight, before Harry and a few others would speak before the Japanese Ministry, and then they would be going on a shopping trip, and then heading to the Mount Hakone _onsen_ , or hot springs resort, to stay overnight.

Because it was approaching winter on the other side of the Gate, Tuka was warned to dress warmly. Lelei had no trouble with her robes, and Rory, being an Apostle, wasn't as affected as much by temperature extremes. She also made it clear that her clothes were a necessity for her to wear as a priestess of Emroy, though she was interested to learn of the Gothic Lolita fashion that resembled her clothes, and was considering investigating that to see if Emroy approved of any of them.

They were soon through the Gate, and were greeted by Komakado. He would be arranging the security details for the three parties. There was some disturbing interest from the Chinese in the Gate, and while it probably would amount to little, there was also some potential for attacks by those who lost loved ones in the Ginza attack. Speaking of, while they were waiting to go through the Gate, Pina and Bozes was shown a couple of Youtube videos of the invasion, and were horrified. It was one thing for the soldiers of the Empire to go and pacify what they considered to be barbarians. It was another to suddenly attack civilians with no weapons, to rape, loot and pillage.

Harry had to admit to feeling sorry for the redheaded princess. The culture shock must have been immense. Even now, she was staring around at the skyscrapers in awe, and even a little fear.

" _What a strange place this is_ ," Hodor muttered, his daughter by his side. " _So barren, and yet…so interesting. And there are cities like this across this world?_ "

" _Yes, though Tokyo, I think, has one of the largest populations_ ," Harry said. " _Space is at a premium here. The capital city where I come from, London, is nowhere near as densely populated. You've got places like Shanghai and Beijing in China, New York and Los Angeles in the United States_ …"

" _The air isn't that clean_ ," Tuka remarked, sniffing at the air.

" _The cars here don't exactly leave the air clean. If there's one big advantage to living in a pre-industrial world like yours, it'd be that_ ," Harry said, before he looked at Tuka. " _Are you going to be all right, speaking to the politicians?_ "

" _Mari has been coaching me_ ," Tuka said, though she looked nervous. " _Then again, Lady Mercury has stated that she has something of a trump card. Something about having experience dealing with vultures._ "

Komakado, who had been talking with Itami, ambled over, having read the deposition Harry had written up. "Nice work, though I can see Sergeant Kurokawa's hand in toning down the language. That vulture Kohara is one of those contrarian fools you find in governments the world over, taking an opposing stance to the government not to play devil's advocate or to act as a check and balance, but purely for her own advancement. She's been calling me constantly, demanding to know why you won't be testifying before the Diet, and why you, instead of a JSDF member, killed the Flame Dragon. Even after I told her that you had been involved in hush-hush stuff in Britain, she's still persistent. Not to mention she's blaming the JSDF for the casualties."

"Moron. I was there, the damned thing ambushed us," Harry said. "I'd love to see how well she'd do against a Flame Dragon."

"Well, Rory Mercury has shared an interesting plan to bait Kohara into overreaching herself," Komakado said. "It's most amusing. Sadly, she won't be the last. In a somewhat Faustian pact, Kohara has made an ally in a rather irritating journalist called Kazunari Komurazaki. He's rather like a No-Maj Rita Skeeter, only concerned about furthering his career at the expense of others. The JSDF, due to the Ginza incident and all that followed, has become his latest subject of interest. Don't get me wrong, freedom of speech is important, as is the need for political opposition. _Quis custodiet ipsos custodes_ , after all(1). Unfortunately, a few rather vocal people take things too far. Then again, empty vessels make the most noise…"

* * *

When they got to the hospital, particularly the MRI room, Harry was all but bowled over by a Potter-seeking bushy-haired missile. He and Hermione had a brief reunion, before he introduced his honorary sister (aside from Mari) to Hodor Ray Marceau. A couple of Mind Healers from the Japanese Ministry were also present.

Hodor was then put into the MRI, and told to stay still. After the long, slow process of scanning took place, Mari supervising the procedure, Hermione and the other Mind Healers examined the results. "This is amazing," Hermione said, as she looked through the scans. "High Elf brains are indeed different to our own. There's a very similar structural arrangement, I think, but the parts relating to sensory information, particularly hearing, and memory…they're more densely packed, and I'm not sure how that's possible. Still…there's some damage to what would be the hippocampus and part of the temporal lobe in humans."

"That means his amnesia, right?" Harry asked.

"Yes, those parts in humans would be related to memory. Still, over 160 years is a large amount of memory to have lost," Hermione said, chewing at her lip. "Of course, I'm not an expert in these things. In fact, I'm not sure anyone can be. The last known Elves similar to High Elves are thought to have mostly died out during the Iron Age, and the House Elves, it was said, were Brownies who were bred to be their servitors. Then again, if the Gate has been appearing on Earth before…"

"Hermione, this is actually fascinating, but there's a more urgent issue at stake. Can we cure Hodor's amnesia or not?"

"With normal medicine? No, sadly. Mind Healers might have a chance," Hermione said.

"Exactly how would that happen?" Mari asked. "Harry mentioned Legilimency as a possible tool for Mind Healers."

"Yes. It's something of a last resort, given that it involves invading or at least entering the mind in question, but it can help stir up the memories," Hermione said. "Neville recently authorised it to be used on his parents. Apparently that old battle axe of a grandmother of his didn't authorise it because she couldn't trust the Mind Healers involved not to divulge any family secrets."

"And did it work?"

"Sadly, no. And the worst part is, apparently it could have worked if Augusta Longbottom had gotten off her high horse and authorised it sooner. But it's been nearly two decades now," Hermione said bitterly. "They got into such a row, it's not funny."

Soon, Hodor was released from the MRI machine, and had the situation explained to him. He readily gave his consent to the Mind Healers. As they worked their magic, so to speak, Hermione then said, "So, this girl I was told about, Lelei La Lalena? What's she like?"

"Like you, only not bossy. She's actually quite stoic and serious," Harry said. "You'd probably love her, though. I can only teach her so much about technology, but you probably could better than I can."

Mari nodded. "She's an inquisitive little thing. The only problem I have with her is that she's way too serious for a kid her age. I know you guys went through a lot at 15, but she seems…well, a bit like Rei Ayanami from _Shin Seiki Evangelion(_ _2)_ , only with better social graces. Lelei, though, as far as I know, has always been like that. I asked Cato about that. Apparently she's been like that from an early age. No actual traumas or anything, that's just her personality."

"Right. The British Ministry has sent me over as an official observer for the ICW, for want of somewhere to put me where I won't make waves…for them, anyway," Hermione said. "They want me to try and make as comprehensive a survey of Falmart as possible, of the peoples, the cities, the geography and geology, magic, creatures, etc. Apparently Luna and Rolf will be coming soon."

"Who's Rolf?" Harry asked.

"Rolf Scamander, the grandson of Newt Scamander," Hermione explained. "Because he's got dual American-British citizenship, it's a political decision to help keep MACUSA, who have closer ties with Magical Japan since the Second World War, happy." She rolled her eyes at politics getting involved. "They don't trust the Japanese to send someone and have them fudge the results, just in case they decided to exploit those in Falmart."

Shortly afterwards, the Mind Healers were done with Hodor. As the High Elf looked around, bemused, one of them, an austere Japanese man, said, "Unfortunately, we could do little. However, even that much may be enough. We managed to retrieve some of his earliest memories of his daughter, so he is actually fully aware of her, though he's coming to terms with the fact that she's now a young adult by their reckoning. However, we're not willing to try and force the others, if they remain, to surface, lest we cause damage. The rest, we hope, will come back on their own, but retrograde amnesia is always a tricky thing to deal with, especially when it comes from physical trauma rather than Memory Charms. And considering that Mr Marceau is not a human being, well, that complicates things as you can imagine."

"Well, even restoring a little of his memories is better than nothing," Harry said. "Anything else?"

"Nothing really. He's mentally very stable, so he should be fine to release…"

* * *

They caught the tail end of the broadcast of the Diet as they left the hospital, specifically the part where that overly made-up hyena Mizuki Kohara interrogated Rory, whom she mistakenly believed to be in mourning, and tried to get her to divulge what she thought of as 'the truth', in reality, dirt on the JSDF. Rory turned it around on her brilliantly, verbally owning Kohara, and by the end of it, Kohara was left shaken. They must've taken Tuka to get a suit, as Harry had to admit, the High Elf looked very attractive in one. Hodor's mouth was hanging open in surprise, though.

They soon rendezvoused at a restaurant with the others, with Hermione meeting with Lelei for the first time, and Hodor embracing his daughter. Lelei and Hermione, along with Rory and Itami, ate together. Pina and Bozes ate with Tomita and Mari, while Shino ate with Tuka, Hodor, and Harry. "Geez, I'm over dealing with politicians," Shino remarked. "What is it about so many public servants is that they serve themselves first and the public second? We did our best with that damned Flame Dragon."

"I know," Tuka said, having mastered the use of the translation charm. "I have heard tales of the senators in Sadera being similar. Why does that woman want to hurt those who helped us?"

"Ambition," Harry said. "She's hoping to get advancement in the Japanese government by causing controversy. I'd imagine it'd be difficult for a female politician to get advancement normally, and she's probably going for the route of stirring up scandal instead. She reminds me a little too much of a woman I once knew, though I'll give Kohara this much, she's probably nowhere near as bad as Umbridge."

"How bad was this Umbridge?" Shino asked.

"Bad. As in, she tortured high school students and got away with it bad. As in, she sent soul-sucking demons to try and kill me bad," Harry said. "I severely doubt Kohara would ever go that far."

"Please tell me that she's dead…or else that I can take a trip to Merry Old England, and beat the everloving shit out of her," Shino said, her eyes filled with something dark and murderous.

Harry shrugged. "Well, an _unknown_ assailant attacked her last year, and she's been in St Mungo's ever since in what the Muggles call a Persistent Vegetative State. Apparently someone used a combination of concentrated cane toad toxin and a few rare curses amongst other things." Which was the truth. But he wasn't going to admit that he and Hermione were the ones who did the deed, aided and abetted by Andromeda Tonks: she was a Black by blood, after all, and they were vindictive as hell when they put their minds to it.

"Why would someone like that woman be allowed to do that to you, Harry?" Tuka asked in horror.

"Because she was the then-Minister of Magic's minion, and she wanted to engage in character assassination, if not the more literal kind," Harry told the blonde High Elf. "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." He looked over at Pina, who seemed to be enjoying her meal, even if it was probably cheaper than the stuff she was usually used to. "Her father is another example of that, and from what Rory told me, her older brother Zorzal is even more so."

"Yes, I've heard rumours about Zorzal El Caesar," Tuka said. "He is said to have a harem of concubines. Actually, so too does the Emperor, but by all accounts, the Emperor takes care of his concubines. Indeed, Pina was born to his most beloved concubine. But Zorzal…he is said to be exceedingly cruel to his harem, taking them to bed whenever he feels like it, including Tyuule, former queen of the Bunny Warriors. We hear these rumours from human traders who came to Koan to…to…" Her voice caught in her throat as she remembered her village being destroyed, and Shino, who was sitting next to her, gently put an arm around her shoulders. "Sorry, sorry, I just…that beast is dead, and yet, my friends and family are still in the embrace of Hardy."

"More like Emroy, if they tried fighting against the Flame Dragon. Remember, there was an arrow in one of its eyes," Harry said. "And given what Rory had said about Hardy wanting to make her her bride, just as well. Anyway, it's okay, Tuka. The Flame Dragon is dead, and it won't hurt anyone else now." He gently patted her hand.

"Yes…yes, I suppose there is that…and my father is alive," Tuka said morosely. "But my friends…those I knew…sorry, I'm just thinking back to it. I don't mean to be maudlin, but…"

"I know, you lost those you knew and loved, and I accept that," Harry said. "Some people will doubtlessly tell you to get over it, but they don't know what loss is like. You've probably lost people already, given that you're eight times older than I am. Time can heal those wounds, but it doesn't always do so. But we're here for you, and so is your father."

Tuka nodded, albeit still morosely. "Hey, come on. When we get booked into the hotel, we're getting drinks," Shino said. "Not enough to get pissed, but I think we can all do with a drink…"

 **CHAPTER 9 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, Hermione's back, there's some hope for Hodor, and some more development for Tuka. And while the link between Kuraha and Komurazaki is something I made up for this fic, it does sound plausible.**

 **I've finished the Japan trip arc, so you guys are getting that over the next few days. Lucky you.**

 **Review-answering time!** **Blaze1992** **: The Rose Knights aren't generally involved in combatting the enemy, and in the anime, Pina comes in to demand an audience of her father shortly after he gives the order for the scorched earth tactics. Pina is also…she's a bit like a more martial Sansa from** ** _A Song of Ice and Fire_** **, naïve to the realities of war. Though unlike Sansa, she's more competent from the beginning. Keep in mind, her unit has also been used more for colour guard at parades, not for combat. The irony is, given that she's probably Molt's favourite child (even if she isn't the heir to the throne), he might have kept some of his more ruthless sides from her.**

 **Guest** **: Harry is just worried that Sod's Law will take place. Thankfully, it doesn't.**

 **Blackholelord** **: I decided not to include Yao, in the end. I may do another story with her as part of the pairing, but not now.**

 **Bisaster** **: Look, I realised I couldn't cram Yao in, so I had to drop her. And Shino, unlikeable? That's only because she gives Itami some much-needed boots up the arse at times. Keep in mind, it's both her and Mari who come to Itami with their concerns about Tuka, and she beats the crap out of Zorzal. Please tell me you're not a Zorzal fan: he's basically a grown-up Joffrey with a little more intelligence.**

 **1\. 'Who will guard the guards?', though famously, the graphic novel** ** _Watchmen_** **translated this as 'Who watches the watchmen?'**

 **2.** ** _Shin Seiki Evangelion_** **is the Japanese title of what we know as** ** _Neon Genesis Evangelion_** **. Interestingly, the two titles complement each other, and were both chosen by Hideaki Anno. As 'evangelion' can mean 'gospel', the first title, with the Japanese words translated, becomes 'gospel of the new century', and the English (or rather, Greek) title means 'gospel of the new genesis'.**


	11. Chapter 10: Introspection

**CHAPTER 10:**

 **INTROSPECTION**

Shino shook her head as she watched Itami chatting away with a slightly plump, glasses-wearing woman in the hotel bar. "Jeez, I still can't believe he was once married, and they divorced on good terms," Shino remarked. "Seriously, you don't hear about divorces that go that well. He still looks after her."

"Risa is apparently a _doujinshi_ artist," Mari said. "That's apparently how they got together. And just because they're no longer husband and wife doesn't mean they can't be friends."

"Yeah, I know, and she seems pretty nice, even if she looks as much as a nerd as he does or Kurata. But still…actually, I can sooner believe him being on good terms with an ex-wife than what Komakado told me about the Ranger or SF training. Though did you notice how Pina and Bozes perked up when Itami explained what _yaoi_ was? Who'd have thought that those two were into Boys Love stuff? You'd think coming from a Roman slash medieval society, they'd be repelled by that."

"Don't be too sure," Hermione said. "Bisexuality was rather widespread in Ancient Greek society, and even Roman society. If our hunch is right and part of the Empire was founded by remnants of the Lost Legion…"

"Bisexuality is accepted amongst my people," Tuka said. "I believe amongst humans, it's not as accepted per se."

"Same out here," Shino said. "Hell, gay rights are still gaining a foothold here in this world. Personally, I don't give a crap, as long it's consensual and all that. Anyway, talking at the Diet aside, how're you liking Earth so far, Tuka?"

"It's…interesting, I have to say. I still prefer my home, as well as Coda…but there are many wonders here, I have to say," Tuka said. "And this hotel makes the inns and taverns back home pale by comparison. Why, this has more rooms than a palace! And this city is only one of thousands on this world, you said?"

Hermione nodded. "Harry and I lived not far from the city of London. Like Tokyo, it's the capital city of the country we lived in, Britain." Anything further that she intended to say was cut off when they heard Rory.

" _What do you mean, you won't give me any drinks?!_ "

"Miss, you're clearly underaged," the bartender said to the irritated Apostle. "There's plenty of soft drinks I can serve you, and…"

"I. Want. _Alcohol_ ," Rory snarled quietly. "And I'm over 900 years old!"

Mari sighed, and went over to Rory, looking at the bartender apologetically. "Sorry about her, but she's going through a phase." She then mouthed, " _Chuunibyou_ ," at the bartender, whose mouth opened in an 'O' of comprehension(1).

"W-What did you just call me?" Rory demanded. "I am the Apostle of Emroy, not some delusional teenager!"

"And you're making a scene most unbefitting of a priestess," Mari hissed quietly as she led Rory away from the bar. "Just wait until you're back at Alnus Hill. Or would you like a surprise medical examination? I daresay you need vaccinations."

"NOOO! NOT THE NEEDLES! YOU SO-CALLED MODERN DOCTORS ARE BARBARIANS!"

Shino sighed. "There goes Mother Hen Mari. Doesn't matter that she's younger than me, Tuka, or even Rory. She acts older. I think Harry said she was a bit like Pomfrey or whoever the healer at your old school was, Hermione."

"I think Mari's a bit kinder, honestly," Hermione said. "Anyway, would Rory's skin be pierced by needles?"

"She can still get injured like a normal person," Tuka said. "But she has a strong regenerative ability. All Apostles do. Lelei would know more."

The women turned in their seats to see Lelei where she was sitting with Tomita and Harry (as well as a sulky Rory), the two men looking protective towards the teenaged witch as she read a book, sipping on a glass of juice. "Jeez, this is surreal. I'm here in a bar, with an Elf, a princess of the Empire that attacked us, and a few mages, and my best friend just dissed an ancient demigoddess who looks like a Gothic Lolita," Shino snarked. "I'm still too sober for this."

"Shino, you're still technically on duty, or at least in public view," Mari said as she sat back next to them. "Remember, even after…no, especially after that stunt Rory pulled in the Diet, the press are keeping an eye out for any further antics. It's only thanks to Komakado that we've not been bothered already, I'd bet."

"We still got that overly made-up hyena to back off, though, right?" Shino said. "I'll give Itami this much, when push comes to shove, he's professional enough. It's the rest of the time that bugs me. But Kuraha just despises the JSDF, period. Does she think the Yanks will come to save us if we don't have the JSDF? Not in time, I'd bet. Then again, being deployed to the Special Region still reeks of Iraq and Afghanistan to me."

"Sorry?" Tuka asked. "Are those other countries?"

Hermione nodded. "There's been a couple of controversial wars going on in those countries. Then again, the whole War on Terror is controversial."

On Tuka's still confused look, Shino said, "Remember how a lot of those bandits claimed to be sacrificing those they killed at Italica to Emroy, and they didn't really care that much whether they lived or died in the process? I'd reckon most of them would be considered terrorists here. Terrorists generally attack civilians for their own agenda. Political, religious…and sometimes, I think they just get off on the violence and just dress it up with another agenda. Anyway, the War on Terror here is against terrorists. And going against them…well, you have a monster on your world called a hydra? Cut off one head and more take its place?"

Tuka nodded, albeit horrified at the concept. "Is Japan safe?"

"Relatively. Not that we haven't had our share of terrorist attacks before September 11," Shino said, grimacing. "I remember being afraid to go on the subway to school anymore after the Aum Shinrikyo sarin attacks(2)."

"You and me both," Mari said. "I won't pretend our world is perfect, Tuka, or our country is perfect. In fact, the reason why we have a Self-Defence Force instead of an actual army is because we did some pretty nasty stuff back during World War II. But we're trying to be better, become better."

"Well, from what I've seen, you're doing a good job so far," Tuka said, rather guilelessly. Then again, despite her advanced age compared to the rest of them, her psyche was very much that of an older teenager, something of an ingénue. Certainly, while she had lost some of her innocence along with her village, she hadn't quite lost her naivety.

"We hope so," Shino muttered. "I hope so…but enough about that crap. I remember Harry saying you had a singing voice. And methinks I spy a karaoke machine over there. Come on!"

* * *

Rory was pouting. "That's one disadvantage of being on another world," she grumbled. "They don't know or respect me. Ugh, it's so not fair."

"Is you getting drunk at all a good idea?" Harry asked, looking askance at the petite Apostle.

" _Yes_ ," Rory said vehemently. Then, her face fell somewhat. "Harry, I'm 961 years old. Drinking may not allow me to forget the pain and horrors I have seen, but it helps numb it." She leaned into Harry gently, closing her eyes. "I know you saw my reaction to bloodshed and violence in Italica. And there are many things I like about it. But there have been atrocities I have witnessed that I wish I could forget. Even the mists of time haven't done enough to erode those memories. Do you know what the smell of a vat filled with acid smells like, especially after it's had corpses in it for weeks? There was a time when Emroy bade me to deal with a troublesome necromancer who was experimenting with distilling lifeforce, trying to forcibly become like an Apostle, and one of his experiments was a vat filled with acid that he dropped people into alive. I will never forget that smell. Or the sights of a brothel where bandits sold children to for people with a taste for them? Sadly, I've come across that a dozen times and more in my service to Emroy. Sometimes, when I curse this childish body of mine, of the times I felt pain, of Hardy pursuing me…I remember those children. I think back that, if it weren't for Emroy choosing me, perhaps I could have ended up like them."

Harry gently hugged the Apostle, as if she was a sibling. "You've seen a lot."

"Too much. Immortality is wonderful, and I would only trade it for another chance to be with my parents. But it does have its downsides. The longer the life you lead, the greater the list of the horrors you witness and perpetrate, the longer the tally of mistakes you made, and the regrets that go with them. Is it any wonder I want to drink? Emroy may be a god of calamity and insanity…but that doesn't mean he is one of true horror. As I said, the motive to kill is the truly important part." She looked at Pina and Bozes, who were in conversation with each other, while Hodor was speaking to Itami and his ex-wife. "People say that the Apostles, being the instruments of divine will, are as capricious and inscrutable as natural phenomena, set apart from normal people. For some, they stay apart from people because they get fed up of having people die, leaving them alone. I try to be sociable, even if some fear me, including those who have done no wrong. Because you can still make new friends, even after the old ones die or go away."

"I never truly considered you to be so philosophical, Rory," Lelei said, looking up from her book. "I know you are a priestess, and an Apostle, but…"

"Yeah, I know. Most people know me as Rory Mercury, or Rory the Reaper. I am either a priestess, or else a relentless monster in the form of a prepubescent girl. Admittedly, not all Apostles are as introspective. I know for a fact that bitch Giselle isn't. No, she's just a happy little instrument of Hardy. I dunno about Zufmuut's Apostle Mabel Forn, though if she's anything like the ancestor I once knew…in any case, not many people know me well enough to know more about me than my duties as an Apostle."

"You do it out of duty, right?" Tomita asked, the burly soldier looking at the Apostle.

"Yes. I have my duty to my god, just as you do to your country," Rory said. "Harry has a more abstract sense of duty, a desire to help people. I'm not saying myself or the JSDF soldiers I have met don't have that, but Harry's ties to the JSDF are looser, based on family and friendship rather than comradeship."

"Hermione calls it my 'saving people thing'," Harry said quietly. "Ginny…I guess you could call her my ex, once said I wouldn't be happy if I didn't have Voldemort to pursue. She was wrong in one way…but right in another. I need a cause to fight for to define me. Helping the people of Falmart fills that need."

Rory raised an eyebrow, before indicating Tuka and Shino as they went over to the karaoke machine. "I think there's another need you should fill soon. Now, she may not show it as much as Tuka does, but I think Shino wants you."

"…So, I'm going to have to make a choice?"

"Maybe. Or maybe not. Take Shino there. Oh, a veritable Valkyrie of Emroy. I asked about that music they played at Italica, and what Valkyries were. I'm sure that if I was not the Apostle of Emroy already, then he'd be choosing her. For a woman whose country doesn't have a true army, she lives and breathes combat, and yet, is no simple, obedient soldier. She has compassion in her soul. And then, there's Tuka. Elves are rather like the best kind of ornamental weapon: a thing of beauty, one that will last for centuries, and yet, beneath that beauty is a deadliness when combat comes. Elves may generally have peaceful lives, but they are still warriors. Plus, you know what they say about the quiet ones." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Harry looked her up and down, before remarking, "You know, that sort of remark reminds me of my late godfather. Are you sure you're not his reincarnation or something, stuck in the body of a pre-teen girl?"

"Harry, if I was, I wouldn't have the urge to bed you or Itami myself. Sadly, you and Itami have principles, and I have, as you put it, the body of a pre-teen girl," Rory said. "Anyway, Tuka's willing to have Shino in the relationship as well as you. It's you two that have the hang-ups about polyamory. And I think, even if she won't admit it yet, Shino will be willing to share with Tuka. Call it a hunch born of experience."

"…Are you just messing with me?" Harry asked.

"I believe she is deadly serious," Lelei said.

"I'd say strike when the iron is hot," Rory said, "but you and Shino like to do this little dance around each other, and you've only known Tuka for a little while. Still…I think there's actual love beginning to bloom. Well, lust too, but I can tell when there's more than infatuation going on…"

* * *

Rory's words stuck with Harry as he lay in bed, trying to get to sleep that night. The hotel bed was comfortable, one of the most, if not THE most, comfortable beds he had slept in since Hogwarts. But it still couldn't help calm the maelstrom of his thoughts.

He didn't know it, but in other rooms in the hotel, Shino and Tuka had similarly troubled thoughts. Doubts and hesitations towards desires. Questions whether they were doing the right thing.

Still, steps had been taken, tentative, hesitant steps. And they would soon come to a head…

 **CHAPTER 10 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, more character development, with Rory getting to show off both her childish sides and her older, more philosophical sides. I think at Mount Hakone, we'll have, instead of a bunch of foreign special forces soldiers, we'll have something a bit more…characterful…**

 **Also…RIP Stan Lee. :(**

 **Review-answering time!** **rmarcano321** **: Aside from the fact that there needs to be more Potterverse/** ** _GATE_** **crossovers? I don't think there was a single inspiration for this particular fic.**

 **Blaze1992** **: It doesn't happen in the anime, but it does gradually happen in the light novels and manga. I think the earthquake in episodes 13 and 14 is the first symptom of the problems with the Gate. If I recall what I've read about the series correctly, Hardy actually gives Lelei the ability to open temporary Gates at will, albeit in a draining way.**

 **secretwhovianpony** **: Sod's Law (AKA Finagle's Law) is basically the pessimistic version of Murphy's Law. While Murphy's Law can be stated that 'anything that can go wrong, will go wrong', it was actually more like, 'if there's more than one way to do something, and one way will lead to a cock-up, then someone will do it the cock-up way' (Edward Murphy stated something like that after it was discovered that a sensor used for G-Force testing was wired up incorrectly). Sod's Law basically says, 'anything that can go wrong, WILL go wrong,** ** _at the worst possible time_** **'. Now do you see why some people claim that Murphy was an optimist?**

 **1\. A** ** _chuunibyou_** **is basically a way of saying someone has delusions of grandeur, being overly dramatic and making out that they have powers. It translates more or less to 'eighth grader syndrome'.**

 **2\. Aum Shinrikyo was a cult that, infamously, perpetrated a terrorist attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995, using sarin nerve gas. This wasn't the first time this happened either, with the cult using the same chemical weapon in Matsumoto the year before, though another man was originally blamed until the subway attack.**


	12. Chapter 11: Acceptance

**CHAPTER 11:**

 **ACCEPTANCE**

The next morning, there was something of a whirlwind shopping trip, and not just clothes. They had to avoid using the subway because of the fears of most of the Falmart natives (particularly Rory) of going underground, due to it being Hardy's domain. Thankfully, there were no real security problems, save for the occasional paparazzi. Hermione also took Lelei and Rory on a brief trip to the local magical quarter of Tokyo, though why that was, she wouldn't say.

Tomita, meanwhile, had been dragged away by Pina and Bozes to the local library, though judging by the copy of the _yaoi doujinshi_ Riza had given them before she left back for her apartment, it wasn't there to look at any serious non-fiction. Harry, Itami, Mari and Shino were left escorting Tuka and Hodor for now, at least until Hermione, Lelei and Rory came back, the latter not only looking very smug, but she also had armfuls of packages that turned out to contain more Gothic Lolita clothing: apparently Japan's magicals, while still somewhat hidebound and traditional, had some taste for Muggle fashions and items, including Gothic Lolita.

Harry didn't know who actually made the seating arrangements when they had lunch, but he now shared a table with Shino and Tuka. As it turned out, it was Mari and Hermione, on Rory's suggestion, who did so. Hermione had broken up relatively amicably with Ron (who'd ended up with Susan Bones, of all people), but she also knew Harry didn't see her as anything other than a sister figure. And while understandably a little skittish at polyamory, she also was willing to be a co-conspirator in what they were calling Operation: Pythagoras (the name was Hermione's contribution, given that they were encouraging a love triangle, and Pythagoras had the famous theorem attributed to him regarding triangles) to ensure Harry's happiness.

Of course, as the Bard himself put it in _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ , the course of love never ran smoothly. And what was here at this point couldn't quite be called love yet, though the foundations were there. Rather, it was attraction and lust, but also empathy and compassion.

"I'm surprised they allowed you to buy a bow and arrow set, given that you are technically a foreign national," Shino said. "I mean, I'd bet that was Komakado helping things along. And one for your father, too."

Tuka nodded. "My father and I tried them out. Most of our bows are either what you call simple bows or composite bows, along with longbows. These compound bows, though, with those wheels and other things…I mean, wow. They are just wonderful. It took us a little while to find the right type of compound bow, though." Once more, her face fell. "I still miss my old bow, though. I made it myself. Same for my harp. Actually, before we head to Mount Hakone, I'd like to stop at any store that has musical instruments."

"As it happens, I know one nearby," Shino said.

"How do you know?" Harry asked.

Shino shrugged. "I went through a phase in high school. Had a boyfriend who was a wannabe J-Pop idol, wanted to be the next Gackt(1). I was going to be his co-singer in the band(2)."

"You sang pretty well last night, Shino," Tuka said. "Is that why?"

"Yeah. But…when our relationship broke up, so did the band. I think he works as a voice actor now, and while he's no J-Pop idol, he's sung a few anime theme tunes. Itami and Kurata could probably name one or two," Shino said. "Anyway, I can sing pretty well, but I'm no pop idol, just good enough to do well on karaoke night."

"Why did you two break up?" Tuka asked.

"It's a long story. Short version…I accused him of wanting me for little more than my breasts and my singing voice," Shino said. "He tried to deny it, and then accused me of trying to ride on the coattails of his success. What success? We'd only just started to get gigs at clubs and other places. Plus, like I said, I was going through a phase."

"And yet, here you are," Harry said. "One of the bravest women I know. And I've known a few. I mean, you've met Mari and Hermione. There's Luna Lovegood and Ginny Weasley…there was Nymphadora Tonks…really, the only bad point about you is that you have a bit of a temper, and frankly, I can't talk where that's concerned. Ask Hermione, I had understandable anger issues from my fifth year at Hogwarts onwards. We joke about it being my 'ALL-CAPS!' phase nowadays. And you're also compassionate. You joined the JSDF to help people."

"All while kicking ass," Shino said with a smirk. "But yeah. Geez…this is just…I'm not good at small talk. You know why they shuffled us together. For some weird reason, they think the three of us can work something out."

"Can't we?" Tuka asked.

"…I don't know," Shino said. "I mean, the only reason why I'm considering it is because…well, it's you two. I mean, you've both been through so much, and you need someone there for you. Fuck, I'm not good with this relationship crap."

"Neither am I," Harry confessed.

"Then we give it a try, see if we can work something out," Tuka said with a smile. "If not…well, I'd happily concede to you, Shino. I'll live for quite a while yet, I can certainly find someone else."

"And what would you father say if he found out you were part of a harem?" Harry asked.

Tuka shrugged. "I actually asked him. And after I persuaded him not to go looking for a shovel, he gave me his blessing. He…still can't remember much of me, save for my early childhood, the first ten years or so. But I'm grateful to these mind healers for managing that much. Actually, Itami and I got to speaking last night. In a way, we are alike."

"How's that?" Harry asked.

"He too has a parent with a mental issue. His father was apparently abusive towards Itami's mother, and eventually, the poor woman snapped and killed him in self-defence. Itami at the time was only very young, and blamed her…and eventually, she was driven to try and burn herself alive. He had to have her…he said it was called 'being committed'. She was confined to what you call a mental health hospital."

"…Geez. I mean, is he okay with you telling us, Tuka?" Shino said.

"He said it wasn't a secret per se, he just didn't like talking about it," Tuka said. "He told me it was fine if I told you."

Shino looked over at Itami, who was chatting away with Hodor and Mari. "And just when I think I know everything about him…then again, maybe that's why he's so goofy. He hides the pain that way. I don't really have that much in the way of personal tragedy, not like you guys do. My parents are fine, my sister's a journalist, that's pretty much it."

"That doesn't mean anything. It's not a club you'd want to join," Harry said bitterly. "I speak from experience…"

* * *

After stopping by the music shop, and picking up a harp (finding one that was small enough for Tuka to carry was a bit of a task), they were soon on the way to Mount Hakone, and the famous hot springs resort. Harry had to admit, though, the whole thing about communal bathing was something he was not used to. Even at Hogwarts, he preferred to shower alone.

Still, he sat closer to Itami, while Tomita serenely sat in the water, and Hodor looked relaxed. "Tuka told us…about your parents," Harry said quietly to Itami, trusting that the noise from the nearby women's baths would help conceal his words from the others.

Itami nodded. "Yeah. I didn't tell you earlier because, well, I didn't want to get into comparing crappy childhoods. I just told Tuka because…well, her mother is dead, and her father? He barely remembers her. Though he's got amnesia, not insanity." The lieutenant sighed quietly. "After what happened with Mom, I…I blamed myself for driving her to that point. I was young and stupid, and I didn't see most of the abuse. I only learned about it after Mom tried to set herself on fire. The guilt's gonna be with me for the rest of my life, while she wastes away in a bloody mental hospital."

"Sorry," Harry said quietly.

"Nah, it's fine. You've been through more crap than I have, if half the stories I've heard from you and Mari are true," Itami said. "This Voldemort guy coming after you for years, the Dursleys…yeah, I've got nothing on that. And at least I got to know my parents…"

* * *

Later that night, there was considerable carousing and drinking, with Tuka singing songs while strumming her new harp. Harry was roped into drinking, with Mari, Hermione and Tomita basically being the designated drivers, or at least teetotallers, for the evening. Lelei, due to her age, didn't drink, though Rory chugged down sake bottles like there was no tomorrow. And then, she took a bottle from a bag, and swigged it down.

Apparently, while in the local Japanese magical quarter, Rory learned of Aging Potions from Hermione, and so opted to buy some, just in case they worked on her. As it turned out, they did. And everyone stared at her transformation. Luckily, she had worn an extra-large kimono.

The end result was, where there had once been a petite girl apparently in her early teens, there was a young woman, apparently in her twenties, and a veritable goddess of beauty. It was undeniably Rory, but when she looked at Itami and licked her lips, a lot of people felt sorry for the leader of the 3rd Recon Team. "Now…" she purred in a sultry tone, "how about you and I go somewhere… _private?_ "

"…I need an adult?" Itami asked in a small voice.

"I **_am_** an adult," Rory said, with a distinctly predatory grin. And she managed to inveigle a slightly reluctant Itami out of that room. Tomita, Shino and Harry gave the condemned man facetious salutes. Pina and Bozes were just plain staring.

"How long do those last for?" Mari asked Hermione.

"A few days unless you take an antidote if you take that big a dose. Rory's metabolism is faster, so hopefully it will last overnight at the very least," Hermione said. "I'm sure Itami doesn't want to wake up in bed with an underaged girl…well, someone who looks underaged, anyway."

"Why the dork, though?" Shino asked.

"She said something about not wanting to hurt Harry's chances, as well as the fact that Itami isn't attached, and that he has Emroy's attention. Plus…" Hermione looked a little embarrassed. "She said something about relieving a small part of over nine centuries of pent-up sexual frustration, or part of it, anyway. The potion was mixed in with a contraceptive one. Plus, she's got a couple of stamina potions and another contraceptive potion for Itami."

Tuka, Pina and Bozes were blushing up a storm. Tomita asked, a little hesitantly, "Will he, uh, be able to walk tomorrow? We kind of need him to be able to."

"Witch, remember? I can use Levitation charms, and so can Harry," Hermione said. "And as you guys have been read in on the existence of magic…though what about our guard detail?"

"They probably have," Mari said. "I heard the special forces unit guarding this place have been assigned codenames based on the Servants from _Fate/Stay Night_."

Shino scoffed. "Really? Whose bright idea was that? Some otaku friend of Itami's, I'll bet."

"Probably. He is friends with Defence Minister Tarou Kanou, and they share similar interests," Mari said. "He actually bought Minister Kanou some _doujinshi_ today and met him to discuss their plans and any security problems. Remember when he went off this morning, before lunch?"

Shino just stared at Mari, before shaking her head. "Fuck it, I don't even wanna know anymore…"

* * *

Later that night, Harry was dragged off into another room by Shino and Tuka. He wondered if, like Itami, he'd have to fear for his chastity. None of them were that badly drunk yet, thankfully, but even so, their kimonos were slipping, and he couldn't help but stare at their breasts.

Before he could say anything, Shino suddenly kissed him, hard. He grunted in surprise, before he gradually returned the kiss. The lust and emotion prolonged it, before Shino broke away, blushing quite heavily. Then, suddenly, Tuka did the same, not so aggressively, but certainly more assertively than he had expected the gentle High Elf to do.

"Yeah," Shino said after they broke off. "Hermione called it. You wouldn't take the lead in a relationship. Harry…Tuka and I…we've decided…we're going to take a risk. We both want to be with you, and we're willing to share you with each other. Only each other, mind you. This is not gonna be like a harem out of one of those stupid H-Games or an anime. We don't want anyone else coming into this. But we want to try and make this work. Normally, I wouldn't even consider this, but…"

"We've already talked about this, Shino, back at lunch, remember?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, but…I wanted to make that clear. Which is why, tonight, we're gonna share a bed. Don't get me wrong, I don't think we're up to actually sleeping together yet, I mean other than literally…but I think we should get this thing kickstarted. You are going to be sleeping with us tonight."

Tuka nodded. "Harry…we want this now. I know you want to take it slowly…but I know you'll never hurt Shino and I. Please?" And she then used her secret weapon, the old Puppy Eyes trick. One of the most deadly weapons of all time.

And who could say no to that?

* * *

The sleep was comfortable, even if he was the filling in a Harry sandwich. And thankfully, they hadn't drunk enough to get a hangover, though they later learned that Rory had a splitting headache…and was a bit unsteady on her knees, as was Itami. Though she was purring remarks about Itami's stamina to all and sundry. Thankfully, she wasn't back to her younger body just yet. That would have been all kinds of nope.

Still, Harry, Tuka and Shino, as they left Mount Hakone and headed back to the Gate, knew one thing. There had been a mutual acceptance of this relationship. Hopefully, they could actually make it work. Time would tell…

 **CHAPTER 11 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, Harry, Shino and Tuka have accepted being together. I was tempted to write that they slept together in the carnal sense…but I felt it was too soon, especially for poor Tuka (so don't be so bloody disappointed!). Of course, come the time-skip to Yao's first appearance, their relationship will develop somewhat rapidly.**

 **I'm not sure when the next chapter will come out. Most of it is actually written, but I'm a little uncertain of where to go after a certain point, so it'll need some time and thought.**

 **Review-answering time! Thanks for your praise with how I wrote Rory in the previous chapter. One thing they didn't show as much in the anime was, well, Rory being introspective. I mentioned Rory being basically a more bloodthirsty version of the Doctor, and that's part of the reason I wrote her this way. I thought of a quote of the Fourth Doctor's, how he once mentioned that, being a Time Lord, he 'walks in eternity'. And that Doctor was two centuries Rory's junior (he actually states shortly afterwards that he's 750 years old). I wanted to show the pain and sadness that doubtlessly lurks beneath Rory's usual attitude. I nearly said mask, but I don't believe Rory wears a mask per se, only that her** ** _joie de vivre_** **mostly overrides her more lugubrious side. I think she sees more than a little of herself in Harry, that dutiful, weary side.**

 **1\. Gackt Camui, real name Gakuto Oshiro, is one of the most famous Japanese musicians.**

 **2\. While writing up this backstory for Shino, I decided to have a quick look and see whether Shino's Japanese voice actress, like many others, had a music career. And indeed, Maaya Uchida does. Stephanie Wittels, the English voice actress, is also apparently a singer too.**


	13. Chapter 12: Yao Ha Dushi

**CHAPTER 12:**

 **YAO HA DUSHI**

 _Five months since the Gate opened_ …

Shino reflected that it was a damned good thing Hazama was as easy-going as he was. She was sure that if Major Higaki was in charge, she'd have been brought up for fraternisation. As it was, all Hazama asked was that she be discreet, make sure protection was being worn (she had no desire of getting pregnant anyway, not until they were good and ready, thank you very much!), and don't let it interfere with her duties. And Harry and Tuka knew better than to allow that to happen.

It was strange, being part of a three-way relationship. It was even stranger being in one with a former child soldier wizard, and a blonde Elf who was seven times older than she was. And yet, Shino actually enjoyed her relationship with those two. Harry didn't mind her aggressive personality, and was willing to be a house husband, but he was no spineless wimp either: he could fight hard when he needed to, and that, she had to admit, was as close as she was going to get for a perfect lover. Tuka was not unlike Harry in some regards, but she was less cynical and more sweet, and it was impossible to hate her. But she also had a core of steel: their operations in Akusho, the Red Light District of Sadera, showed that, when push came to shove, she was willing to fight, even kill. Shino remembered those criminals Tuka and Hodor used their compound bows on, and she reckoned that, if they ever felt inclined to learn how to use a sniper rifle, they'd probably outperform their best snipers.

Plus…well, Shino's reluctance to be part of a _ménage a trois_ was now non-existent. Even as quickly as their relationship had progressed since that night on Mount Hakone, she was actually enjoying it. True, they only started getting truly physical a few days ago…but oh boy, it was damned good, largely in part to Harry. Inexperienced though he was, he managed to show himself to be a good lover. And Tuka…well, behind that shy, blushing façade, she was a closet pervert, and while Shino didn't quite swing that way, she had to admit, the High Elf knew _exactly_ where to touch.

Thanks to what happened in Japan, Pina and the Rose Knights were now allies to the JSDF, and were helping establish peace talks, intending to persuade enough senators to ally in order to put pressure on Molt Sol Augustus for an armistice. They'd brought in Hermione, officially to report back to the ICW about conditions in Falmart, but really, she was there more to tutor Lelei. Shino had to admit to taking a shine to the bushy-haired witch. That weird little blonde who came in yesterday was another matter, Lovegood. She'd come in looking like a dotty kid in a candy store, and said something about Shino having 'Wrackspurts', whatever the fuck those were. Apparently she and that guy she came with, Rolf Scamander, were bigshots when it came to magical creatures, and even now, the young man was examining the Flame Dragon's remains.

The UN was still debating what actual team to send in to Falmart, to 'supervise' the JSDF. It was unlikely, given what Hazama said, that a full team of UN peacekeepers would be sent, just some personnel from various organisations as a sort of oversight thing. Shino was irritated, but given that this was the first major operation, aside from peacekeeping and disaster relief, that the JSDF had been in for some time, well, politics had a bad habit of rearing its ugly head.

Speaking of which, in a couple of days' time, they had to head to Sadera. Apparently Pina was holding a party where the JSDF could give demonstrations of some of their weapons. It was risky, as it could get the attention of the Emperor, or of Zorzal. But the dividends would be worth it. Apparently Sugawara was already in Sadera already, and had managed to gain the cooperation of one of the war hawks, Cicero, in exchange for the release of his nephew, one of the POWs from the Ginza attack.

She looked around the town that had sprung up near Alnus Base. Once, it had been a shantytown, but now, with some help from the Formal clan, it was now a small town. There was even a tavern run by some of the Formals' servants, including that Bunny Warrior Delilah, and it was popular with the locals and the JSDF alike.

She was close to the gates of the town when she saw a newcomer. She had dark skin, and was wearing a mantle with the hood concealing her features, though the outfit she wore looked like some stereotypical skimpy warrior outfit. The newcomer seemed to notice Shino's scrutiny, and spoke in the local language. " _Excuse me, but are you with the Men in Green?_ "

Shino sighed, grateful to Tuka's lessons in the local language. " _Yeah. I'm Sergeant-Major Shino Kuribayashi. Look, you're new here, I can tell, so I need to know your name and why you're here. Sorry, but newcomers could be trouble._ "

" _I understand_ ," the woman said, and removed her hood, revealing silvery hair and pointed ears. " _I am Yao Ha Dushi of Schwarz Forest. I have come to plead for the help of your warriors in eradicating a scourge upon our people._ "

Shino frowned. If she recalled correctly, based on briefings they got from King Duran and from Tuka, that meant Yao was… " _You're a Dark Elf, aren't you? Right, well, I'll have to take you to my commanding officer. Though why did you come to us?_ "

" _We heard of you vanquishing the Flame Dragon_ ," Yao said. " _I scarcely thought it true until I saw the skull of the beast outside this settlement._ "

They were passing by the tavern when they heard Itami say, "Hey, Kuribayashi, what's with the Dark Elf?" The shabby 1st Lieutenant was leaning out of the window, a tipsy-looking Rory sitting opposite him.

"She wants help for her people," Shino said with a shrug.

Suddenly, Yao scowled, and drew out a sabre. " _What kind of beast are you to get such a young girl drunk? Intending to take advantage of her, no doubt._ "

Shino didn't like the smirk on Rory's face, and as much as she and Itami had their issues, and she sometimes liked to prank him, allowing him to get skewered by a Dark Elf was not on the agenda. " _Hey, take it easy_ ," Shino said, placing her hand on Yao's shoulder. " _That girl is actually Rory Mercury._ "

Rory pouted, but Yao asked, " _Is this true?_ "

" _Yeah, yeah. The killjoy told the truth. I just wanted to have a bit of fun at Itami's expense. So, why are you here at Alnus Hill, Yao Ha Dushi?_ "

"… _A pair of dragon whelps have been attacking our people. We have managed to hide from them, but they hunger for our flesh, and our entreaties to Hardy have gone unanswered_ ," Yao admitted. " _They are already too grown for our weapons to affect them much, so I was sent here as an emissary to seek aid._ "

Rory frowned, and then mused to herself, in Japanese, "That's very odd. Giselle prefers that area when she isn't moving around on Hardy's orders. And being a Dragonid, she's more than capable of taming a dragon…anyway, are you taking her to see Hazama?"

"I said I'd take her to our CO. I think Hazama would be the one who determines whether we send anyone, and how many. With the peace talks with the Empire at this stage, they'd probably want to be careful, to avoid a political shitstorm. Hopefully, given that we've got King Duran here, we can at least send some people with RPG launchers. If one good hit from a HEAT rocket was able to kill that monster, then they should be good against smaller ones, right?"

Rory nodded. "As long as it hits it in a vital area, anyway. Dragon whelps tend to be more agile than their elders. True, dragons can be surprisingly fast and agile in the air, but on the ground, well…" The petite Apostle shrugged. "By the way, where's Harry and Tuka?"

"Talking to Hodor, last I saw them," Shino said. "Hodor's actually beginning to recover a few more of his memories. Very slowly, but he's better than he was before. There might be some hope to him recovering all of them, in time. Anyway, I'd better get Yao here to Lieutenant General Hazama…"

* * *

Actually, Harry had finished talking with Hodor some time ago. He and his daughter were getting some archery practise in just outside the base, with Harry looking on, as well as someone else. This someone else was Myuute Luna Sires, the Siren who had been shanghaied into helping the bandits attacking Italica. She was now working as a member of the Alnus town's Military Police, albeit under supervision. It was her time off, though, and the feathered girl was chatting away.

"Those bastards got me while I was heading to Italica, looking for work," Myuute was saying, crossing her feathered arms. "One of them was an ex-mage from the Imperial Army, and he was able to protect them from my own magic. I had to enhance their arrows and deflect any enemy arrows coming their way. Basically, it was either help them, or get used as their sex toy before either getting sold to one of the gangs in Akusho, or else having my throat slit. Frankly, I'm glad you got me out of there."

Harry nodded. It wasn't like with Pettigrew, who had betrayed people who were his supposed best friends, and then went back to help Voldemort. Admittedly, he had been afraid for his life, but he had joined the Death Eaters willingly in the first place. Myuute, on the other hand, had been conscripted by the bandits. Myuute was actually kind of endearing, once she was no longer an enemy.

Of course, she could never hold a candle to Tuka. The blonde High Elf girl was the archetype of being endearing. She was gentle and peaceful, though one should not mistake that for weak. The operations in Akusho showed that she was more than capable of fighting, and killing, if need be. What's more, she grew out of her starstruck phase with him, to his gratitude. While he was still a hero to her, she didn't have that same worshipping nature as Ginny did. If anything, it was probably because Harry wanted to take it slowly that had Tuka coming to terms with her infatuation with her 'knight in shining armour'. Harry didn't treat her like a prize to be bedded, but a person, and Tuka, far from being offended, found herself drawn to him more, with less infatuation and more gentle attraction.

And there was Shino. Shino, who reminded him so much of Ginny, and yet, was so much more. Shino may have been a Muggle, but her fire and conviction put even Ginny's to shame. Rough and aggressive she may have been, but Shino was compassionate and accepting, and what was more, understood more than Ginny what Harry was. Ginny, while she had gone through bad experiences, didn't quite understand Harry's own past, and couldn't see past his reputation as the Boy Who Lived. Shino had no such preconceptions. She was perceptive and blunt, and while she hadn't gone through anything like what Harry or Tuka did, she had empathy enough to recognise it, and know when to comfort him. Plus, she had the balls to call him out on any stupidity.

Both were strong, beautiful, and intelligent women. And he was lucky to be in a relationship with both of them. No, not just lucky, but privileged.

An uneasy peace had fallen between the JSDF forces and the Saderan Empire. Pina, with help from Sugawara, was courting various nobles to try and encourage a peace treaty. Harry, along with Shino and Tuka, as well as the 3rd Recon Team and their associates, were heading to Sadera soon for a couple of days. Mari was staying in Akusho, acting as a doctor for the demi-humans living there, especially the prostitutes, who were apparently grateful for both prophylactics and anti-VD medications.

Hermione had also been teaching him about some other things. They'd managed to get smartphones to work on this world, even without the telecom towers or satellites normally needed. Harry knew this because Mari had an iPhone with her with a special enchantment on it. And he was getting better with Compulsion Charms. Not that he'd use it unless necessary. Ditto Legilimency: he'd finally managed to learn how to use it. Through it, he knew, for example, that Delilah was actually a spy working for the Formal clan, and that she had a major fixation on revenge against her former queen, whom she considered the vilest of traitors.

Harry, however, was about to go on an unofficial assignment soon, to the palace of Zorzal El Caesar. Killing Zorzal at this stage was inadvisable. He was too well-guarded, and while Harry had the Invisibility Cloak, killing him may lead to accusations of an assassin working for the JSDF. However, he intended to gather intelligence. And if there were any Japanese citizens enslaved to him, well, he intended to free them.

"You're enjoying your new life here, aren't you?" Harry asked Myuute.

"Of course. Seriously, three square meals, booze when I'm off-duty, the JSDF not wanting to make me a sex slave…I've just got to deal with…what did Lady Mercury call those guys again? Oh, right. Otakus. The next one who calls me a harpy, I'm tempted to slap," the avian girl said, huffing in annoyance.

"You just look like how harpies are shown in some anime series, hence the confusion. Anyway, for these guys, it's like something out of a fantasy novel back home. Of course they'd be excited. They just need to know where the line is drawn. Because you guys are people, not anime clichés."

Myuute smiled at that, but then, Harry's radio crackled. He activated it. "Potter here."

" _Potter, this is Lieutenant Yanagida. Sergeant Major Kuribayashi has just escorted an interesting guest to the Lieutenant General, a Dark Elf from the Elbe Kingdom by the name of Yao Ha Dushi. I know you intend to head out soon, but we'd like you in on this discussion. Come to Command ASAP, okay?_ "

Harry sighed in irritation. "Got it, Yanagida. I'm on my way…"

 **CHAPTER 12 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, there you have it. Harry, Shino and Tuka have hooked up, and it seems Harry's going on a mission of his own…one with interesting consequences.**

 **kyugan** **: Mostly the anime incarnations, due to my familiarity with that source over the manga or light novels. This is pretty standard for my** ** _GATE_** **crossovers.**

 **Blackholelord** **: IKR? And I can't write lemons anyway. I can't write action scenes that well either. If I do write about sex, it's either at one remove, or else as a snapshot during the process for dramatic or comedic effect, rather than a blow-by-blow account.**

 **zetsubougintama** **: It's funny you should say that, considering that the next chapter's working title is** ** _The Enslaved Queen_** **. However, Tyuule won't be joining the harem (I've done enough Tyuule-centric pairings for my** ** _GATE_** **stories). But she will be playing a key role in the story…**

 **Azaira** **: I have rules of thumb when it comes to pairings, to try and avoid squick. If a character is younger than 18-20, then they should be paired with someone of a similar age, give or take a year or two. Once both characters are beyond 18-20, then, well, anything goes, as long as it's not ridiculous. Hooking up Tuka with characters in their 20s is fine by me, despite the age difference, because the maturity is there. I also try to match physical and mental ages when it comes to some pairings, which can be a hindrance with certain stories. Anyway, the upshot is, if I do do a Harry/Lelei story (and I might get around to doing that one day), then Harry will be about 16 at the oldest in said story.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


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